Transposition
by Jaenera Targaryen
Summary: Judgment is passed differently, fates are changed, and yet the more things change, the more they stay the same.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Transposition

Prologue

Darkness…complete and utter darkness…

No, that wasn't quite correct. Darkness was after all, just the absence of light. Nothing more and nothing less. Here though, in this place beyond time and space, there was absolutely nothing.

A great and empty void stretching infinitely around him. Nothing to see. Nothing to hear. Nothing to feel. Nothing to smell. Nothing to taste.

Absolutely nothing…not that he had the means to sense anything anymore either.

But…that wasn't quite correct either. Something existed in this void. _He_ existed. _He_ was there. And he _remembered_. Remembered who he had been. Remembered what he had hoped, _dreamed_ to do and become. Remembered everything he had to do to make those dreams reality, the compromises and sacrifices…

…the lies he told to himself that he was doing something good and beautiful. And he remembered opening his eyes, and how he wished he could scream and rage and weep at how each and everything he had ever done had all been for nothing. Except, he couldn't. He couldn't stop either.

All he could do was to keep going, deluding himself that he could somehow give meaning to what he'd already done, that somehow he could still make the dream reality…and then the betrayal. The end. Except it wasn't the end.

An eternity of continuing as he had, flashes of meaningless blood, fire, death and destruction, in between timeless vistas in this empty void. A hell he'd consigned himself to, a hell he fully deserved for his delusional dreams, and from which there was no escape.

 _Let silver and steel be the essence. Let stone and the Archduke of Contracts be the foundation. Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall. Let the four cardinal gates close. Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate._

Or once again, perhaps that wasn't quite correct either. There was a chance. A small chance…that maybe, just maybe, if he could go back to those young and foolish days, he could snuff that poisonous dream out, and end the nightmare before it could begin.

 _Let it be declared now: your flesh shall serve under me, and my fate shall be with your sword. Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail. Answer, if you would submit to this will and truth._

It was almost certainly impossible to achieve, and it could be that he was deluding himself as he always had. Deluding himself, believing in that small, one per cent chance that he needed to succeed.

 _An oath shall be sworn here: I shall attain all virtues of all of Heaven, and I shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell._

And at the very least, if he couldn't end the nightmare, he could keep others like him from condemning themselves to this hell of their own making.

 _From the Seventh Heaven, attended to by three great words of power, come forth from the ring of restraint, Protector of the Holy Balance!_

He felt the pull on his being, his concepts quantified and made real by a power beyond the world, or an infinitely close replication thereof, and once again after an eternity in the void, he began to _feel_.

 **BOOM!**

Clouds of dust obscured his sight, Moonlight percolating through the dust down from overhead through a hole in the ceiling, musty smells filling his nostrils. The ground he was sitting on…no, that wasn't right…it was a pile of rubble, ah, of course. No wonder it was so uncomfortable.

As the clouds began to clear, he noticed a nearby door, and in the distance he heard the sound of feet running in his direction. Unbidden, his lips twitched into a fond smile.

It was a smile that should have vanished as the door was kicked down in one blow, an eternity of experience keeping it in place, masklike, because the girl who kicked the door down with an expression of urgent yet wary alarm on her face was not as he expected.

"Oh dear," he parroted the familiar words, spoken each and every time his chance to end the nightmare came. "What a master I have."

Inwardly, however…

 _What is this?_

* * *

 _"You're going…?"_

 _"Yes, I'm going."_

 _The jewel glowed like blood washed in gold in the afternoon light, the silver chain it was hanging on flashing with reflections. The man held it up, the girl holding out her hands to let it fall into._

 _"No matter what," the man said. "Never forget, I have the utmost confidence in you."_

 _The girl nodded, and laughed as the man reached down to pat her on the head. And then _, to her surprise the man sank to a knee in front of her. "It's going to be hard for you," he said. "But even so, keep at it. And never think that you can never do whatever it is you set out to achieve. Because if you do, then you've already failed."__

 _The girl nodded. "Yes, I'll remember!" she said, and the man smiled at her._

 _"Just focus on the challenge you're facing at any given moment." The man continued. "Give everything you have to overcome it as best you can, and when you've overcome it, take the time to take measure of what you've done, and learn the lessons to be learned from them. And then you move on, ready to face the next challenge on the path ahead of you."_

 _The girl nodded again. "Yes, I'll remember that too!" she said, and the man nodded again._

 _"But at the same time," he said. "Don't be so focused on what's in front of you that you lose sight of the bigger picture. Understand?"_

 _"Yes." The girl said, but then she frowned. "But…"_

 _"Oh? You have an objection?"_

 _"Didn't you say I shouldn't look too far ahead or I might trip on my own feet?"_

 _The man laughed, again patting the girl on the head and causing her to grin at him. "Indeed," he said. "And? What's the lesson?"_

 _The girl's smile turned serious, looking up at her father as she stood up. "Always keep the big picture in mind," she said. "But focus only on what you can do at present."_

 _The man nodded. "Yes, precisely." He said before smiling. "It seems that I really can leave everything to you."_

 _The girl briefly lowered her face, and when she looked up again, she had a childish expression of determined resolve. "I won't let you down." She said, and the man's smile grew wider._

 _"I know you won't." he said, already half-turning away. "Well then…"_

 _Without another word he began to walk away, the girl looking after him as the afternoon breeze whipped up into a frenzy, blowing through her hair and sending dust, leaves, and branches flying all around her. And in the distance, the man continued to walk away, never once turning to look back._

 _I knew even then…that he would never come back…he was going to war after all. Not a war between nations, but one only seven magi fight._

The girl – now grown over the past ten years – slowly blinked awake, twisting and turning under her sheets until she reached full consciousness. For several more moments she just lay in her bed, staring up at her bed's canopy, and then with a grunt forced herself up to a sitting position.

A glint of light drew her eye, and she turned to look in its direction, at the same jewel given to her by her father ten years ago, just as she remembered in her dream. As she saw the jewel glow with inner light, another memory came to mind.

 _Sakura, the Holy Grail will inevitably seek for one to earn its power once more. And when that time comes, it is our family's obligation to prove its worth._

Sakura Tohsaka smiled at the memory, and briefly closing her eyes rose to her feet. _"Well,_ " she thought to herself as she began stretching exercises. _"The war's just only begun, and it's not like I was particularly looking forward to it in any case, so I might as well just take it easy for now._ "

* * *

Archer silently drank his tea as he watched his Master do likewise, though she also had a ham and cheese sandwich to go with it as a light breakfast. "About last night…" he began as he finished his tea.

"Hmm…?" Sakura hummed at him before giving a smile and a shake of her head. "Oh don't worry about it. I'll fix the roof when I get the time, and speaking of which, thanks for cleaning up on your own initiative."

"You're welcome." Archer said with a smile. "You did say we'd talk some more later, and I just thought that maybe those talks might go smoother if I earned even just a bit of your goodwill."

"Is that so?" Sakura replied with a small laugh. "If so, then you certainly earned more than just a bit. Both by cleaning up, and for making this wonderful tea of yours."

"I'm glad to hear that." Archer said with a small, satisfied smile.

The conversation stilled as Sakura finished her sandwich, washing it down with tea. As she placed the empty teacup on a saucer, she turned back to Archer. "Well then," she said. "I'd think I have the right to know about my Servant's identity and legend among other thing, don't I?"

Archer didn't reply, and Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

After a moment, Archer sighed and shook his head. "Not really," he said. "Nothing important seems to be missing, but my memory also seems to be blurred, and…"

"You can't remember your name and legend, is that it?" Sakura finished for him, and when he couldn't reply she sighed. "Is that even possible, for a Heroic Spirit to forget who they are?"

"I don't know." Archer replied. "But if I had to guess, I'd point to that little mishap during the summoning ritual."

Sakura stayed silent, staring neutrally at Archer who just stared back just as neutrally. And then after several moments, Sakura gave a small laugh and shrugged. "Well, I guess it is my fault, I suppose." She said to his surprise. He was even more surprised when she took a pen from her pocket, and scribbled something down on a clean table napkin.

"Note to self," she muttered while scribbling. "Always double-check the clocks and other similar devices meant to control the surrounding circumstances. If the Servant summoning had been a High Thaumaturgy ritual – actually it is, the Grail just simplified…"

Sakura paused, and then crossed out the last word. "…handles some…" she continued before pausing again and crossed out the last word again. "…most of the requirements and processes – the house might be a smoking crater by now."

Archer silently looked on surprise as Sakura folded the impromptu note and stuffed it with her pen in a pocket. "Really," she said. "That was careless of me, forgetting the clocks were set back by an hour. A lesson to be learned…"

"I see." Archer said slowly before giving a cough. "In any case, as I said earlier nothing important seems to be missing. And judging from the amount of prana you seem to possess and the apparent…status, of your family I'd say you're a powerful Master, and as your Servant, I'm rather powerful as well. I won't disappoint you, I promise."

"And I'm grateful for that." Sakura said with a nod. "And I'm flattered too. But if you think I'm powerful, then I'd have to say you're being overconfident."

Archer looked surprised at that, and Sakura laughed softly again. "I don't know about the other Masters," she said. "But whether it's old man Zouken or his granddaughter, the Matou at least would have a stronger Master than I am. The former because he's old, and older magi are usually more powerful, and the latter because she's a prodigy, that's why. I can barely hold a candle to her…for now."

"For now…?" Archer echoed, and Sakura snorted but didn't elaborate. Archer was tempted then and there to ask if Sakura really thought it was wise to admit her relative weakness, but ultimately decided against it.

 _This…world, is so much different from how I remember things. Probably best not to rock the boat – for now – until I know more. And besides…_

Archer ever so slightly narrowed his eyes at Sakura, remembering a girl with violet hair and eyes that he couldn't save…the first of so many, in wretched hindsight.

He must have stared too long though, as Sakura glanced curiously at him. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

"No, it's nothing." Archer said. "Though, you shouldn't be so pessimistic."

"I'm not." Sakura said. "I'm just being cautious. And in any case, there are historical examples of ordinary people who managed to beat geniuses out of honest effort and surprising flashes of ingenuity. So let's do our best, shall we, Archer?"

Archer nodded. "Yes." He said, and Sakura smiled before getting to her feet and grabbing her schoolbag.

"Now then," she said, already heading out to leave the living room. "Shall we get going?"

* * *

A/N

Once more with feeling, I guess.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Transposition

Chapter 1

"So," the girl's cool voice asked. "What's the verdict?"

Shirou Emiya looked up from where he was inspecting the outer casing of the water heater, and smiled. "Oh," he said. "Well, I can't be completely sure until I check out the insides, but nothing seems to be wrong on the outside. The electrical cord looks fine, and the same goes for the outer casing. So…yeah, it's probably on the inside."

Rin Matou nodded her acknowledgement, her long, silky, violet locks spilling over and past her shoulders gently bobbing with the movement. "I see." He said. "That's good to hear. We're not so short on funds that we couldn't afford to replace equipment if we need to, but still, I'd prefer not to readjust fund allocations outside of official business."

"But," Shirou said. "Isn't replacing council, well, school equipment part of official business?"

"True," Rin admitted with a nod. "But it would mean taking funds away from other, more…pertinent, allocations. Like say clubs and activities."

"Well, they could certainly use the money needed to buy a new water heater more." Shirou admitted. "So I'll do my best."

Rin nodded again. "My thanks." She said with her usual cool smile, and Shirou laughed.

"No problem." He said. "It's the least I can do with all the help you do around the house."

Rin's lips twitched ever so slightly wider, and Shirou began taking his tools out of his toolbox and placing them on the table next to the water heater. "I should get going then." Rin said after a couple of moments watching. "As I recall you don't particularly like people hovering around while you work, and to be honest I sympathize."

"Even though you usually have Shinji hovering around taking notes on council business?" Shirou asked, and Rin laughed.

"Point," she conceded. "But that goes with the post."

This time it was Shirou's turn to laugh. "Guess so," he admitted.

Rin nodded, and then turned to leave. "Well then," she said. "I take my leave."

"As formal as ever," Shirou said without looking up but with a small smile on his face. "Though, I guess it goes with appearances, doesn't it?"

Rin chuckled, but didn't say anything, opting to quietly open and close the door as she left. Shirou waited for a few more moments until he was sure she or anyone else wouldn't suddenly pop in, and then pressed a finger against the water heater.

"Trace on." He said softly, and closing his eyes.

Searing pain burnt through his body at that, like white-hot metal slowly being driven into his flesh. Shirou ignored it, tuning out the pain like he was so used to, keeping his eyes closed as he visualized the structure of the water heater in front of him.

"Components, analyzed. Fundamental Structure, analyzed."

Shirou opened his eyes, finding the break in the heating element which kept it from working properly. "A bit of solder and electrical tape should do, I guess." He murmured to himself, before taking a screwdriver to pry the water heater open and repair its insides.

 _I am a magus._

Shirou remembered his father telling him that on a _tanabata_ night several years ago, and how surprised and disbelieving he had been when he heard it, thinking it was a joke of some kind. It turned out to be true though, his father – Kiritsugu Emiya – was in fact a magus. A man who studied and uncovered the rules of the World, and by finding and taking advantage of those rules and their loopholes, performed miracles.

And yet, Kiritsugu had opposed Shirou's desire to be a magus, believing it would do him no good, just as it did no good to the world. " _Spells only bring about conflict._ " Shirou remembered him say. But even so Shirou persevered, and eventually Kiritsugu had reluctantly agreed to start teaching him magecraft.

But as it turned out, Shirou had barely any potential to perform magecraft at all, and failed every spell his father taught to him, save only for a bare couple. And it was those spells which Kiritsugu told him to practice whenever he could, and Shirou did so, in the hopes that someday, he too would become a magus like his father had been.

Though, Shirou knew that using what little magecraft he knew like this, to find damages and such to mundane devices and assist in their repair, would ultimately be seen as heresy by other magi, an insult to their way of life. To use it as a tool for such mundane ends…he'd be branded and shunned as a spell-caster at least. But he didn't really care much about that.

They had their way of doing things, and he had his way of doing things. It was as simple as that. And besides, what were the chances he'd encounter fellow magi anyway, considering how few and reclusive they were?

More than likely, he'd live life without ever encountering a fellow practitioner. And he knew enough anyway to know he had to be discreet, or risk drawing unwanted attention.

The supernatural had to remain secret, after all.

Shirou nodded as he finished the repairs on the water heater's heating element. "That'll do." He said before cleaning his hands with a cloth, and then replaced the outer casing.

That done, he put the water heater away and cleared up his tools, and after wiping the table, left the council room.

* * *

"You're done already?" Rin asked in surprise, turning from the two girls who'd been talking with her about some school activity or another when Shirou had showed up.

"Yes."

"That was fast." Rin said, glancing at her wristwatch. She turned back to Shirou with a small smile. "Well, I suppose it's for the best. This way you'll have ample time to eat your lunch."

It didn't need to be said that despite the speed and seeming rushed nature of his work, Rin knew him and his work well enough to know that he'd always do what he set out to do, and do it well. If he couldn't, then he'd say so from the beginning, and let someone else who could do it instead.

"Right then, I'll be going." Shirou said with a nod.

"Thanks for your work." Rin said.

Shirou nodded again and was about to leave when the PA system crackled to life, and Shinji Matou's voice was heard across the school. "Announcement," he said. "Class and organization representatives are requested to attend a meeting with the Student Council this afternoon, in the classroom adjacent to the council's meeting room, after class hours are concluded but prior to any and all club activities. The agenda will be planned activities for the coming spring, and any and all matters that may concern said plans, to issue reminders and announcements, and to address concerns and questions about the aforementioned items. I repeat…"

"Shinji doesn't sound too into things, as usual." Shirou observed.

"He doesn't need to be." Rin said dismissively. "So long as he performs documentation, organizing, and his other duties as council secretary well and as expected of him, his enthusiasm is of little concern. Same with this announcement: it doesn't matter if he doesn't sound particularly lively, only that the message needed to be delivered is delivered."

"That's rather cold, as usual."

Rin's eyes narrowed slightly, amethyst irises turning to Shirou. "I take my duties and responsibilities both in general and as council president in particular quite seriously." She said, and Shirou blinked.

"Sorry about that, I…" he began, but Rin waved him off with a smile.

"No," she said. "Don't apologize. I know you meant well, so it's alright."

Shirou nodded, and Rin continued. "In any case," she said. "You should get going. There's only about thirty minutes or so left for lunch break, so if you want something to eat, then you should go and do so."

Shirou blinked and nodded. "Right," he said, already moving to leave. "I'll see you later then, Rin."

Rin nodded in acknowledgement, and then turned back to the girls she'd been talking to earlier. "Now then," she said. "Where were we?"

* * *

Sakura closed the rooftop door behind her before erecting a bounded field around them to keep anyone from listening or just barging in. "So," she began as Archer materialized nearby. "What do you think?"

"There's definitely a Servant here." He said. "In astral form of course, but I can't tell you much more than that – what I can get from their aura like say whether they might attack or the Servant is particularly violent – until we get closer. Or until they appear in front of us."

Sakura nodded, walking over to the railings. Staying silent, she leaned on them to look out at the city beyond, and then turning, hopped back to perch herself atop the railings. "That's dangerous." Archer observed.

Sakura just shrugged, and Archer mentally wondered at how different this girl was to the girl he knew. It was logical though. People's characters were the result of both natural disposition and experience. In terms of experience, _Sakura Matou's_ character was the result of a lifetime of daily rape and torture. _Sakura Tohsaka_ however, had none of that.

That left disposition though, and Archer could only suppose Rin's naturally prideful character had led to her being largely aloof and distant, an idol to be adored from a distance, character traits also cultivated by her lonely upbringing following the early deaths of her parents.

Sakura however – to Archer's knowledge – had never been as proud as Rin, a perhaps natural disposition for a younger sister. The lonely upbringing that she shared with the Rin Archer remembered though…it must have led this Sakura to want to be less aloof and distant from others, quite easygoing in fact.

 _Unless…it's a mask._

 _Rin being aloof and distant was a mask too. On the inside, she was irritable, somewhat lazy, and liked to poke fun at people, unwilling to admit what she really felt sometimes to her own detriment, but also a caring and loving girl at heart._

 _This Sakura…if this is a mask…then what is she really like on the inside?_

"…Archer…Archer…Archer…"

Archer blinked, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Sorry," he said. "I spaced out a bit there."

"I noticed." Sakura noticed with a smile, her legs lightly swinging back and forth. "So what did you space out over?"

"Nothing too important."

"It sounds very interesting then."

Archer couldn't help it. He laughed at that, Sakura's smile twitching wider as she shrugged. "Point," Archer admitted. "I was just thinking about my memories, that's all."

Sakura's eyes widened, and blinking, nodded. "I see." She said. "Sorry about that."

"No, it's fine." Archer said, waving it off. "As I said, nothing seems to be missing, and it may be they'll eventually resurface."

"Your memories, you mean?"

"Yes."

Sakura nodded. "That's true." She said, and falling silent for a few moments sighed. "Anyway, you heard the announcement earlier, didn't you?"

"I did."

"I'll be attending as class representative later." Sakura continued. "I don't doubt the Servant you can sense is Matou-sempai's, so you'll have the chance to examine her Servant's aura up close and see what you can get from it later."

Archer nodded. "That sounds good." He said. "Though, they might do the same to us."

"Then it all comes out even." Sakura said with another shrug. "Matou-sempai's a prodigy as a magus, but when it comes to planning battles and all that, I'd like to think we're just about even."

"And her grandfather?" Archer pointed. "He'd probably give her advice and other help when it comes to planning and conducting battles between Servants, magi, or both."

 _I wonder how Zouken treated Rin. The worms are still probably there, damn it, but Rin and Sakura's magical potentials lie along different axes. What was done to Sakura, may not, no, would not be applicable to Rin._

 _And certainly, things are very different. Sakura's told me after that broadcast earlier that Rin's Student Council President, and Shinji's the Student Council Secretary. The latter I can believe, Shinji had the ambition and talent just never the right direction, but the former…_

 _…there's no way it could have happened had Matou done things as I remember._

 _Zouken must have bent Rin to his designs differently, enough for her to stay similar if obviously not as I remember her. But how?_

Archer blinked again, and raised an eyebrow as Sakura snapped her fingers repeatedly. "Spacing out again." She said laconically.

"Sorry."

"Hmm," Sakura hummed. "I'm starting to think you might be thinking of heavier things than your lost – hopefully for now – memories. That, or they're understandably weighing on your mind. Memories are who are, after all. If we lose them, then who are we?"

Archer nodded, and Sakura continued after a moment. "Going back to Matou-sempai's Servant getting some feel for you from your aura like we plan to do to them later," she said. "I think it's a risk we're going to have to take. Information is vital after all. And it's not like I can skip out on that meeting."

Archer slowly nodded his agreement. "True," he said. "On both counts. But what of Matou's grandfather."

"Not much we can do about him." Sakura said. "He was old when my dad was around, and old magi are _powerful_. I'm not going to try and challenge him on his turf, and not outside it without proper preparation. Or I'll let you do it."

Archer smiled and briefly closed his eyes. "Isn't that against the rules?" he asked as he opened them.

"He's a relative and a known magus associate, no, teacher of the likely Matou Master." Sakura replied. "He's a valid target."

Archer nodded. "True," he said. "Well, I too have some experience fighting magi, so if my memories come back, I can help you out against the elder Matou."

"Comes out even, eh?"

"Quite."

Sakura nodded, and leaning back into the air much to Archer's concern looked up at the sky with a faint smile. "The sky looks good, doesn't it?" she asked wistfully. "So clear and blue, if not as clear or blue as in summer."

Archer blinked and looked lost for a moment. And then he chuckled. "Somehow," he began. "I think you didn't bring me up here to just talk about our plans for later. You could have done that telepathically."

"Oh?" Sakura said with a smile at him. "If so, then why'd I come here?"

"To laze around and watch the clouds in the sky."

Sakura laughed, and hopping off the railing stretched once before sinking down to sit against the concrete, arms folded behind her as she looked up at the sky. "Lunch needs to settle down anyway." She said with a wink, and Archer laughed in his turn.

 _Maybe…maybe she's not too different from Rin. Rin used to act like this too at times, and it would make sense._

 _They were sisters after all._

 _And maybe Rin would act like this all the time, if she were and always had been honest with herself, instead of becoming so used to wearing a mask. So much so, that part of the mask actually became real._

* * *

The school bells rang the end of official class hours, students bustling around in and out of their classrooms. Some went home straight away, or off to spend some time out at town before doing so. Most stayed at school however, a few to handle their assigned cleaning and other housekeeping duties before packing off to someplace or another, but most went to their clubs and other extracurricular activities.

In the classroom adjacent to the Student Council's meeting room, class and organization representatives chatted and wandered around as they waited for the council president to arrive. Most of the room's desks and chairs had been pushed to the sides, many occupied by some of the representatives.

Several desks and chairs had been moved to the front however, arranged in a semi-circle with the teacher's desk in the middle, facing the rest of the classroom. A few chairs were empty, but most had the student council's officers sitting in them, the officers quietly talking amongst themselves.

Eyes turned to the door as it opened, Sakura taking in their gazes without batting an eyelid. "Hello." she said cheerfully as she closed the door behind her, the rest of the room's occupants turning back to their business as she did so.

Sakura stepped forward, and after looking around for a bit for familiar faces, went off to meet with one such familiar face. "Hey cap." She said.

"Tohsaka," Kikuchi Saito, captain of the track team said with a nod. "If I remember right, you're a class rep, aren't you?"

"I am." Sakura said, leaning next to the wall next to her captain. "So if you're here, who's in charge of the team until you get back?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Kikuchi asked. "Yukika's handling it."

"Yukika-sempai," Sakura murmured. "Oh man, once she graduates at the end of next year it's going to be a pain to find a replacement for her."

Kikuchi laughed shortly before shrugging. "Probably," he admitted. "But, it'd be easier if you didn't think of it as replacing, and more like succeeding her."

Sakura didn't reply at once. "I don't see how." She finally said.

"Yeah, you're probably right. It's not going to be any easier at all." Kikuchi admitted before grinning and shrugging. "Well, at least it won't be my problem anymore. It's something for the next captain to handle."

Sakura laughed. "How irresponsible." She remarked.

"I guess." Kikuchi answered, the two runners sharing a laugh. "Though, you talk as though you aren't in the running as the next captain."

"Please tell me you're joking."

"Oh no, I'm quite serious."

"I can handle the job well if I have to," Sakura replied. "But, it's not really optimal for the team."

Kikuchi laughed. "Just say it already," he said. "You becoming captain would mean crippling the team as the best runner after Maki gets sidelined handling the post's responsibilities, that's what you want to say, don't you?"

"I'm not nearly so confident in my abilities to say so." Sakura said with a small smile. "For one thing, she still has quite a lead on me."

"True," Kikuchi admitted. "But, you're getting close."

"Maybe," Sakura admitted, falling silent as she crossed her arms over her chest. Kikuchi fell silent as well, the two runners sweeping the room around them with their eyes. A few minutes later and the door opened again, allowing a girl inside, who wearily took one of the council seats. "Mitsuzuri-sempai looks like she really regrets taking the sports officer post on the council."

"It suits her though." Kikuchi pointed out.

"Maybe," Sakura agreed. "But it's a strain on her, seeing as she's already _kyuudo_ captain. And of course, it only further sidelines our school's best archer."

"True," Kikuchi agreed with a small nod. "But from what I hear her taking the post, well, running for it in the last election was a personal favor to President Matou."

Sakura actually started laughing at that. "What's so funny?" Kikuchi asked.

"You know what." Sakura replied with a grin. "Whenever someone actually calls Matou-senpai 'President Matou', I find myself thinking that maybe in a couple of decades…"

"…she'll be Her Excellency Rin Matou Prime Minister of Japan, right?" Kikuchi said with a matching grin, before the two of them burst out laughing to the curious glances of others nearby. "Though, do you really think she can pull it off?"

"Why not?" Sakura asked.

"Not trying to be insulting here," Kikuchi said with raised hands. "But, she's a girl, and well, this is Japan. In general, we're not really the most gender-equal culture and society in the world."

"Hmm," Sakura hummed in thought before nodding slowly. "That's certainly true. But, while it'll be very hard, I'm sure if she puts her mind to it, she could pull it off."

"What makes you so sure?"

"I just am."

Kikuchi raised an eyebrow at that, but Sakura didn't elaborate. After a few moments, she turned back to the captain. "Anyway," she said. "I'm going over to say hi to Mitsuzuri-sempai, is that alright?"

"Yeah, sure, go ahead."

"Alright then."

Sakura nodded and began to make her way through the classroom. "Excuse me…coming through…excuse me please…oh sorry, sempai…" she found herself saying as she made slipped through the crowd. Finally, she slipped free and after smoothing her uniform vest, approached Ayako Mitsuzuri. "Hey, sempai."

"Hey Sakura."

Sakura blinked. "You look and sound tired." She observed, and Ayako sighed.

"I am." She said. "Between my responsibilities as _kyuudo_ captain and sports officer, I've got a lot on my plate. And Rin's been breathing down my neck for the past week about finishing the drafts and other paperwork for the sports committee's proposals and other business for the coming spring."

Ayako sighed again, and Sakura smiled sympathetically. "She's only trying to keep things running smoothly." She said.

"I know that." Ayako admitted with a tired smile. "It doesn't mean it isn't any less tiring, or her any less bossy."

"Bossy, huh?" Sakura echoed before glancing at the door. Ayako did so too, but the door stayed closed. "She takes her responsibilities seriously, that's all I'll be saying on the subject."

"Too seriously, in my opinion." Ayako replied. "And nothing in excess is a good thing. Then again, she's got plenty of pressure and expectations on her, this country being what it is when it comes to gender roles."

Sakura laughed briefly. "First cap, and now you." She said. "For some strange, inexplicable whim of the universe, conversation about our dear miss president today turns to gender issues in this beloved country of ours."

Ayako laughed as well. "Considering how talented Rin is," she said. "And the ambition expected to come with or grow from it, it might be unavoidable."

Sakura laughed again. "True." she said.

"Well," Ayako finally said, shuffling the papers on her desk. "I ran for this post as a friendly favor in the first place, so I can't really blame her for all the work. I knew the expectations that would come it."

"Sempai," Sakura said softly before briefly closing her eyes and nodding. "Do your best, sempai."

Ayako nodded. "Thanks…" she began, only for them – and everyone else in the room – to turn in the door's direction as it slid open. Seeing who was about to enter, Sakura turned back to Ayako.

"Well then…" she said, and Ayako nodded before the girl stepped back into the crowd.

Long, luscious locks of rich violet flowing down over her shoulders and down her back, Rin coolly stepped into the room, her sheer presence quieting all conversation down into polite silence. Only her measured, soft yet firm footsteps could be heard, the tall girl walking behind the teacher's desk where she gently but firmly pulled the chair back before sitting down.

Meanwhile, her half-brother and so-called 'shadow' Shinji took a seat to the right of her desk, the wavy-haired, violet-haired boy having his usual, veiled expression of sourness. Placing the stopwatch he carried to affairs such as this on his desk, he pulled a notebook and pen out of his bag and placed them on the desk as well.

Rin – her beautiful, sharply-featured face schooled in a cool, neutral expression – examined the papers she carried with hard yet clear amethyst-like eyes. The afternoon light shining through the window further accentuated her pale, alabaster-like skin, and after a moment, she glanced to one side in irritation.

"Someone please close the curtains." She said softly but firmly, and despite the low volume her words could be heard clearly through the classroom.

The curtains were quickly closed, but even then, the reduced amount of light only seemed to make the president stand out even more. Finally, several moments later, she looked up, placing her papers back on the table. "Is everyone here?" she asked.

"All council members accounted for." Shinji replied.

"And representatives?"

Shinji glanced into the crowd. "The numbers match." He said.

"I see." Rin said, shuffling through her papers one more time. "Very well then, we will begin today's meeting. Council Secretary, begin recording the minutes."

"Understood, miss president." Shinji replied, starting the stopwatch and opening his notebook to a blank page.

Rin nodded at him, then turned back to the rest of the classroom. "As you've heard at lunch earlier today," she began. "Today's agenda will be…"

* * *

A/N

And that's a wrap!

Just for clarification, Kikuchi Saito is an OC, since we don't know who the actual captain of the Homurabara Track Team is. Yukika is not an OC though, and is one of Rin's friends in canon and both there and here manager of the track team (and cross-country club). Ditto for Maki, or Kaede Makidera, aka the 'Black Panther of Fuyuki' though no one actually calls her that (to her annoyance). Also one of Rin's friends in canon, and both there and here the best sprinter in the track team (though as mentioned above, Sakura here is a close second).

Together, Yukika, Maki, and Kane Himuro form the 'Track Girl Trio'.

Oh and before you ask, what happened to Issei, well what do you think?


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Transposition

Chapter 2

High above Fuyuki City, two figures stood on top of a skyscraper, looking down at the cityscape glittering deep in the night below.

One was a tall man, with tanned skin and iron-grey eyes, prematurely-whitened hair sweeping back over his head. He wore a long-sleeved coat of red tied at the collar with white thread, under which he wore armored boots, black trousers and a silver-patterned and contoured cuirass of black metal.

The other was a young girl of average height, if leaning slightly towards the higher end. Her dark brown hair was cut short, just above her shoulders, the wind whipping through it and her open, sleeveless vest of serviceable brown. Under the vest she wore a white, short sleeved shirt with a red band around the middle, white stars running in a circle through the band, along with dark-colored jeans and a pair of black rubber shoes.

"Well," Sakura asked. "It's a nice view, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is." Archer agreed with a smile. It really was, and it was a familiar sight too, very nostalgic no matter how many times it happened. Rin always brought him here in his memories, and now, it seemed Sakura would have and had too.

"If you'd brought me here earlier," he added his usual response. "There'd have been no need for us to spend the whole evening going around the city."

Sakura chuckled and nodded. "Maybe," she admitted. "But while you can see a good view of the surrounding city from here, unless you go around it on the ground you won't get a really good feel for the place. And it's not like you can see everything in detail from here."

"I see." Archer said, briefly closing his eyes but smiling with a mix of nostalgia and agreement. "Your point is a good one, but it's not completely correct."

"Oh?"

"As you say," Archer said, glancing at Sakura with a smile. "Going around the city on foot may be necessary to get a good feel for its layout, but seeing in detail…well, I can't see the other side of the city very well, that much is true. But, I can however, easily count how many bolts there are on that bridge over there."

"Seriously?" Sakura asked, wide-eyed. Archer smiled wider, and offered an arm, internally wondering if she'd accept it.

A couple of moments later, and he would have laughed if he could, the two of them leaping out across the night sky over the city, to the rooftop of a lower building nearby. "The war has already begun." Archer said as they fell through the air. "I can't have you being surprised by things that happen from here on out."

"In that case, sorry." Sakura said with a small, rueful smile, as she and Archer landed before leaping off the building in but a moment. "Looks like I've insulted you by accident."

"It's fine, I'm not offended." Archer said, smiling at the similar but all too different dialogue, relishing the nostalgia and novelty in equal measure. "I'll just take it as a test of my abilities. How about you though? Are you ready for this?"

Sakura's smile twitched wider, turning into one of confidence and resolve. "I never play to lose." She said, and Archer laughed, the two of them continuing to jump across the Fuyuki skyline.

"That's good to hear, Sakura."

* * *

Morning was bright and sunny the following day, if a bit crisp early on as winter had yet to end. Spring though, was just a few weeks away, not just according to the calendar, but given the slowly-growing warmth of the passing days.

Rin Matou stood silent by the stove, carefully holding a bowl filled with egg mash over a pan coated with hot oil. The egg mash hissed initially as it was poured into the frying pan, and the quieted down as the cold liquid filled it.

Rin stepped back, adjusted the stove's heat, and then turned to the other breakfast options she was preparing. "Good morning." She heard Shirou say, and glancing in his direction while continuing to gently stir the soup smiled at him.

"Good morning." She returned the greeting, Shirou smiling at her while walking into the kitchen.

"You alright by yourself there?" he asked while looking over her cooking.

"Yes." Rin said with a nod. He always asked that question every day, either or sometimes both before breakfast or dinner, and she always gave the same answer. It should have been annoying and yet…

…it wasn't.

 _Maybe because it's so…normal. So…caring…something I can only dream about…something I can only hope to feel…when I'm with him…that's why…I…_

"Alright then," Shirou said, heading over to the refrigerator to get a drink of water. As he replaced the water pitcher back inside and closed the door, he drank from the glass while opening the china cabinet. "Let me help out a bit."

"You know the drill, Emiya-kun."

"Yes, yes."

Shirou first placed out the serving dishes, bowls, and utensils she'd need, placing them on an empty corner close at hand to the stove. After returning a grateful nod, Shirou returned to the china cabinet to get the china and utensils for the table, while Rin returned to her cooking.

" _I'm still not sure what you see in him, Master._ " The mental voice of her Servant echoed through her mind, and Rin smiled sadly.

" _No, you probably don't._ " Rin said. " _Not at once anyway. Honestly, it took me quite a while to see it myself._ "

" _Yes, so you've told me._ "

Rider had been surprised when the day after her summoning, Rin had woken up early to go to Shirou's house to cook him and his guardian breakfast, and afterwards, travel with him to school. To see her Master, her proud, determined, powerful and hateful Master act equally as humble, relaxed, submissive and caring even…

…it had been quite a shock to Rider. Even more shocking was when Rin told her of how she – Rin – had fallen for the boy.

Apparently, she'd first noticed him when she saw him from a window in their school, spending hours trying to jump a high jump too high for him…and from the wrong direction to boot. It sounded stupid and Rider said as such, and Rin had laughingly agreed. But, as she had watched him keep trying for hours, refusing to give in despite repeated failures, no matter how stupid it was…

 _It was like staring into a mirror, you know. He knew he shouldn't be able to do it. He knew it was stupid of him to even try. And even so, he kept trying. He failed. Again, and again, and again, he kept on failing. But he kept trying, until at last he succeeded._

 _Maybe it's just coincidence, and the obstacle he was trying to overcome, the goal he was trying to achieve, they're nothing like what I face and what I want. But even so…if someone like him trying to accomplish such an infinitely smaller yet just as impossible challenge succeeded despite repeated failure through sheer determination, effort, and will…no matter how stupid it seems…_

 _…I…I can't really condemn it._

 _Because I'm just as stupid as he is, it seems._

Rin had never told Rider what such cryptic talk really meant beyond how it applied to the boy she clearly held an interest in, beyond that she wanted and – stupidly – sought to achieve something similarly impossible, and so couldn't really condemn him. And Rider never pressed.

It was clearly something close to Rin's heart, and while Rider would be the first to admit she wasn't the most understanding sort, she was understanding enough that whatever secret it was, it wasn't something to be told to someone who'd barely known Rin for a few days. It wasn't like she too did not have some things she had no desire to share to others, having met none she could trust with her most hopeless and yet all too dearly sought after desire.

 _Father…why?_

" _You alright there, Rider?_ " Rin suddenly asked. " _I sensed something…off, through our link._ "

" _It's nothing._ " Rider said with the telepathic equivalent of a weak fluster and a cough. " _I was just…reminiscing, about some things._ "

" _I see._ " Rin replied. " _My apologies._ "

" _No,_ " Rider said. " _It's fine. And I was the one who first disturbed you from your cooking, with my reminiscing, so it's me who has to apologize. So, my apologies, Master._ "

Rin smiled at the thought. " _It's fine._ " She said while transferring the scrambled eggs to a serving plate.

As her Master continued to busy herself with her cooking, Rider turned back to observing Shirou Emiya while remaining in astral form. The boy had just finished setting the table, and was now sweeping what little dust had gathered since the previous night. Rider rolled her eyes at such a fastidious attitude, while going over what she knew – or rather had been told – about the boy, all the while examining his body language.

According to her Master, she'd been introduced to Shirou a couple of years ago by her half-brother, who had been and was a good friend of the boy. Shirou had apparently fallen ill, and in that time Rin had helped out around the house, cleaning and washing and cooking for him among other things.

In that time apparently, despite what she clearly was there for, Shirou had tried to lessen the burden on Rin, even going so far as to try and help her around the household, despite being sick himself. In short, despite her purpose being to help out while he was ill, Shirou had treated her as a guest.

And more than that, he'd shown a hint of his true character, leading an intrigued Rin to stay on as his unofficial housekeeper even after he recovered. And unlike most men and boys who'd probably if not inevitably moved on her given the plenty of time they spend alone with each other so often, Shirou apparently knew his limits, and shown and proven what kind of person he really was.

" _His determination drew her in,_ " Rider thought. " _And his kindness and purity of heart won her heart…what the hell am I saying?_ "

Rider sighed to herself. " _Who'd have thought my Master would be such a maiden at heart?_ " she asked. " _Especially given her…circumstances…_ "

Rider clenched her immaterial fists, taking great care not to bleed her emotions out through her telepathic link with Rin. She'd seen what the magic of the Matou Clan involved, and even one such as she, who had seen great and terrible sorcerers and sorceresses in life had recoiled in horror and then rallied in blazing fury at the sight…

…only to be reined in by her Master. Initially to her shock, but after it was explained to her, with respect and even admiration.

 _I'll take everything he has. No matter how painful…no matter how humiliating…no matter how monstrous…I'll take it all! It will only make me stronger in the end, and just add more to what is owed to me when the time comes!_

 _And when I have nothing more to learn from him, when he cannot or would not offer me more, I will take it all, and leave him with nothing!_

 _Nothing…!_

" _Such strong spirit…_ " Rider thought to herself with a respectful smile at her Master, carrying plates and platters of steaming food to the table. " _A golden heart that refuses to be tarnished, and a steely spirit that refuses to break, no matter what is inflicted against it…truly, what a Master I have._ "

Again, Rider's eyes turned to Shirou in the aftermath. She looked on with what would have been a thoughtful frown, and after several moments sighed.

" _Well,_ " she thought to herself. " _He certainly seems genuine. But if so, how long can he last? A golden heart is all well and good, but a golden character cannot hope to succeed in this world. My Master knows this. Does he? And if he does not, and his character is put to the test, then what?_ "

Rider narrowed her eyes. " _If he cannot endure,_ " she concluded. " _What will become of him, to whom my Master would have her heart belong? And what will become of her? Steel is strong…but it can break. If so…then what?_ "

* * *

"…gas leaks during the previous evening at…"

Rin looked up at the news reporter's words, staring at the television screen in silence and taking the report in to the end, and then sighed. "More gas leaks…" she murmured. "Hmm…"

"What's wrong, Rin-chan?" Taiga Fujimura asked.

"Hmm…?" Rin hummed before shaking her head, her violet locks swinging with the motion. "It's just that the council's been given notice to advise students in light of the recent gas leaks not to remain on school grounds outside of class or club hours, and if possible, to go home immediately afterwards."

"And what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing," Rin replied. "However, it only helps if a gas leak erupts at the academy, and _if_ it erupts after official hours. Otherwise, we're still at risk."

"Hmm…" Taiga hummed in thought, and ate a mouthful of rice in the process. "That's a good point, I suppose. But, every little helps, doesn't it?"

Rin tilted her head in thought before nodding slowly. "I suppose that's true." She conceded.

"Yeah, it does." Shirou agreed.

"But, that last part, advising students to go home immediately after class hours," Rin continued. "I'm not sure how effective it's going to be."

"What makes you think that?" Taiga asked.

Rin raised an eyebrow. "Based on personal experience as a former class representative and the incumbent Student Council President," she said. "Leading the student body is like herding cats."

Shirou made an unhappy sound. "That's a bit harsh, isn't it?" he asked.

"Perhaps it is," Rin answered with a shrug. "But it's the truth. And that's at the academy, where I have the weight of official authority behind me. Outside the academy, where I have no official authority…"

Rin trailed off, but Shirou and Taiga understood. After a moment though, Shirou coughed. "That's another good point," he said. "But there's nothing we can do about what our schoolmates choose to do outside of school. Apart from giving advice to help them avoid getting caught in the recent accidents that seem to be popping up in the city, that is."

"Every little helps…?" Rin asked, and Shirou nodded.

"Yes." He said. "Believe me, if I could do something better about those leaks, I would. But…"

"Just do what you can, is it?" Rin murmured with a smile, and Shirou nodded sadly, though his fists briefly clenched in frustration.

"Yes."

Silence and stillness reigned for a few more moments, and then Taiga coughed. "Anyway," she said brightly, reaching forward to grab a piece of meat from a platter with her chopsticks. "Our breakfast is getting cold, and we all have things we still have to do before class starts. So let's get at it, and not get late, shall we?"

"Yes."

"Yes."

* * *

The school bells rang the warning note, audible quite a good distance down the street leading away from the academy. Students walking along the sidewalk quickened their paces, including one athletic girl with short-cut hair.

" _Damn it, I overslept!_ " Sakura mentally swore as she picked up the pace.

Jogging forward while agilely slipping between and around her schoolmates, Sakura quickly arrived at the school's gates and through them into the quadrangle. Even then she didn't break her pace, continuing to jog towards the entrance, and she wasn't the only one either. A few others weren't just jogging too they were outright running.

Sakura was about halfway across the quadrangle when she came to an abrupt halt, blinking and looking around her before a wary expression came over her face. " _Archer,_ " she said. " _Do you sense that?_ "

" _Yes._ " He replied.

" _Is it Matou's Servant?_ "

" _No,_ " Archer replied. " _The feel of their aura is different. It's someone else's Servant. Could there be a third Master in this school?_ "

Sakura's face briefly darkened, before calming to a neutral expression. At the same time, she began walking briskly towards the entrance, along with her fellow students. " _It's not impossible, I suppose._ " She said. " _But it is very improbable for another student to be a Master…the only reason I or Matou-sempai for that matter, are Masters despite our age is because our families have no other candidate available. Were someone older and more experienced are present and qualified to represent our families, then we wouldn't be Masters right now._ "

" _Then perhaps this third Master is a teacher._ "

" _That's also possible._ " Sakura agreed. " _It's also more probable too. But if it is, then who?_ "

" _I don't know. At the very least, we'll have to watch our backs. I can sense – barely – Matou's Servant's aura too, and it's wary. They probably already know about what we're discussing._ "

A ghost of a smile flickered over Sakura's face. " _As should be expected from Rin Matou._ " She said. " _She's sharp, and has already taken basic precautions. I wonder what else we can expect from her._ "

" _What do you think we can expect from her?_ "

" _Smartass…_ "

Archer's laughter ghosted through her mind before the Servant went serious. " _He or she doesn't seem intent on attacking at any rate…for now._ " He said. " _He may just be here to observe you or the Matou girl: anyone with the barest knowledge of the background behind this contest would know that both your families are guaranteed a spot as a Master. And since you're the only Tohsaka left, and the Matou patriarch – his magical prowess aside – is physically infirm, it's likely they inferred both your statuses as Masters and wish to confirm it for their Master._ "

Sakura nodded, stepping up to her footlocker, and opening it took her indoor shoes from inside. " _That makes sense._ " She said, sitting down on a bench and beginning to remove her outdoor shoes. " _I sense a 'but' there somewhere though._ "

" _He may not be planning to attack now,_ " Archer said. " _But that may change later. I'm not sure, but it is a possibility._ "

" _Yes._ " Sakura agreed. " _That does increase the probability that there is no third Master in this school though, if a Servant had to be sent to observe myself and Matou-sempai. If there was, they could easily do so in person. The possibility is still there, but I think we can hope that there isn't. It'd certainly be easier on us if there wasn't._ "

" _Agreed._ " Archer said. " _So what shall we do?_ "

Sakura didn't reply at once, instead staying both physically and mentally silent – except to return greetings from passing schoolmates – while she finished changing her shoes and stowing the outdoor ones in her footlocker. " _We'll be careful._ " She said as she rushed to her classroom. " _And we'll stay here after school._ "

" _Throwing down the gauntlet?_ "

Sakura's lips twitched into a small smile. " _I guess I am, aren't I?_ " she answered to Archer's amused chuckle. " _But, it's a good tactic – at least I think so – to force the enemy's hand. If the enemy Servant is here strictly for observation, then they'll back off once night falls and the school is empty, that is the battlefield is clear of any possible hindrances._ "

" _And if they don't back off?_ "

" _Aren't you confident in your skills?_ "

Archer laughed again. " _I see your point._ " He said. " _I'll be sure not to disappoint you, if it comes to that._ "

" _I'll leave it to you then._ " Sakura said, going up the stairs and then around a corner and down a hallway. " _This might also be a chance to flush out the enemy Master, if he or she is a teacher or maybe a student even, in this school. If so, I'll take care of them, while you take care of the Servant._ "

" _Understood, Sakura._ "

Sakura nodded, arriving at her classroom and sliding the door open just as the bells rang the start of morning classes.

* * *

Shinji yawned widely as Shirou joined him and Issei Ryuudo in their usual lunch spot at the council meeting room. "Rough night?" Shirou asked the violet-haired boy.

"Well," Shinji began evasively. "You could say that. Tiring, but not bad."

Shirou smiled knowingly and opened his lunchbox. "You got lucky as you'd put it, didn't you?" he asked.

Shinji grunted but didn't say anything. It wasn't like he could say that he and his his stepsister (not that anyone knew she was really his stepsister and not his half-sister like the official records say) had fucked like animals over and over again last night. And the night before, and the night before that, and so on.

Well he could, but that would go really well, he was sure.

" _It's not that I particularly mind,_ " Shinji thought as he began eating lunch. " _It's enjoyable, she's probably got the biggest rack in the school, and she really gets into it…but…_ "

Shinji sighed mentally. " _Ever since she summoned that Servant of hers_ ," he thought. " _She's gotten way too hungry, just like back when puberty had just started for her. At least back then I didn't have much on my plate. Now though, with all the council business and other stuff she and the old worm have dumped on me, I barely get any sleep these days._ "

Shinji briefly shot Shirou a look from the corner of his eyes. " _With all the time she spends over at Emiya's place,_ " he thought unhappily. " _And her appetite these days, I wonder why she doesn't just do it with him? It's not like we have any real feelings for each other, we've always been just convenient partners after all. But the guy she's had a crush on for years now…why hasn't she made a move?_ "

Shinji mentally snorted. " _She probably has some sort of romantic notion in her head about it or something._ " He thought with a mental sneer, though it quickly vanished. " _Then again, given how our family is like, and why we're as we are now, I guess I can't really speak badly of a hopeless daydream like that._ "

Shinji blinked, mentally shuddering at certain memories while focusing on what Issei was saying. Shirou had apparently asked how things were at the temple Issei lived in, and while things were still largely normal, a few days ago a female acquaintance of his father had moved in to stay at the temple until her wedding day.

"…she's quite beautiful, enough to cause something of a stir among the younger monks." Issei said. "Even I'm tempted by her charms."

Somehow, hearing their usually straight-laced friend say that caused Shirou and Shinji to momentarily short-circuit and freeze. Issei quickly realized what he'd said, and broke out into a fluster much to Shinji and Shirou's amusement.

Inwardly though, gears were turning in Shinji's head. " _Ryuudo Temple is a spiritually-active spot._ " He thought. " _It stands on top of one of the territory's ley lines, and is in fact, a potential summoning site for the Holy Grail itself. A bit exposed to be sure, but…_ "

Shinji narrowed his eyes. " _It could just be a coincidence,_ " he thought. " _That an acquaintance of Issei's father suddenly turns up just as the war begins, and stays over at a spiritually-active location until her wedding day. That last bit is particularly suspicious: I've never heard of a bride secluding themselves over an extended period before the wedding day._ "

Shinji briefly closed his eyes, resuming eating his lunch. " _Could that woman be a Master?_ " he thought. " _Or it is really just coincidence? I need to know more about this woman, before I tell anything to Rin, or we actually investigate anything._ "

"Hey," Shinji began. "Issei, who exactly is this acquaintance of your father's, and how'd they know each other?"

"In truth…"

* * *

" _You don't plan on attacking this third Servant?_ " Rider angrily demanded.

" _No,_ " Rin replied, sitting in her office and reading the reports submitted to her as council president. " _Grandfather says that this Servant is probably Kotomine's, who stole it from that Irishwoman he killed a few days ago. And he's probably using his Servant to test the other Masters and Servants, or some other scheme of his._ "

Rin paused, turning a page. " _You don't want to play along with a fake priest's scheme, do you?_ " she asked.

There was a moment of profound silence, followed by a powerful burst of frustration. " _No, I don't._ " Rider snarled. " _But, it's still so frustrating, to have a potentially-worthy enemy I can cross blades with and crush within reach…and not do anything!_ "

" _Don't worry,_ " Rin thought with a smile. " _We'll fight eventually, there's no doubt about that. But, we'll do it on our terms, the better to win. And while you clearly like fighting, I'll take a risk and guess you like winning more._ "

There was another moment of profound silence, and then laughter echoed through the telepathic link. " _Yes, you've got me there._ " Rider admitted. " _In part: I like winning as much fighting, but against strong enemies I can boast as having defeated. Not much point boasting about having beaten weaklings who can barely if even fight back._ "

Rin nodded. " _Quite,_ " she thought. " _You'll get your chance eventually of that you have my word._ "

" _Then I'll take it, and hold you to it._ "

" _And I won't expect anything less._ " Rin responded with a nod, again turning the report's page. " _But for now, let's leave this enemy to Tohsaka. Knowing her, she'll probably try something in line with her cheeky and impudent character._ "

" _From what I've seen, and what you've told me, I like her. She's no helpless or frail maiden that one, not like that whore of Lancelot's, Guinevere._ "

" _Language, Rider._ " Rin admonished. " _And I never said she was, indeed treating her as such is probably asking to be beaten in short order. It's just that she doesn't act her station, and that's not something I can really condone._ "

" _Titles and things like that are empty anyway._ "

Rin didn't reply at once. " _Is that so?_ " she finally asked.

" _What's that supposed to mean?_ "

Rin briefly closed her eyes, placing the report down on her desk. " _No,_ " she said. " _I've said too much, my apologies._ "

There was another moment of profound silence, followed by a snort. " _You've got nerve, but I can respect that._ " Rider said.

Rin smiled slightly, reaching out for another report. " _Anyway,_ " she said. " _I'll leave familiars behind to see what Tohsaka and that other Servant will do. Who knows? It just might prove useful to us later on._ "

" _Yes, yes._ "

* * *

A/N

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Some of you could probably guess who Rider is this time, and no, Issei isn't dead. I wonder how some people came to this conclusion.


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Transposition

Chapter 3

Golden afternoon light played over the academy grounds, at students walking around, out of, or away from the school buildings. Alone, in pairs, or in groups, they crossed the quadrangle towards the gates, and out, either heading home or to spend some time elsewhere before calling it a day.

Others still had some unfinished business, such as the track and field team, taking turns doing practice laps and running back and forth on the quadrangle. Lights glowed through the _kyuudo_ building's windows, and through a scattering of windows across the academy's various buildings. For the most part however, club activities were done for the day, and indeed, most students had already left, and those clubs still unfinished were just about to wrap up themselves.

One student about to head out was Shirou Emiya, humming softly to himself as he crossed the quadrangle for the gates. Ordinarily he'd have left long before, seeing as he wasn't really a member of a club or anything, but he'd been tied up fixing an old television in the possession of the Student Council. It had taken some time to do so, a television being more complex than most machines but he'd done it in the end.

Rin had already left, though she had offered to stay with him until he'd finished working. Shirou had turned her down, and after giving her a promise not to dawdle around after fixing the television or do more than he was expected to at his part-time job after school, Rin had gone on ahead. She still had to visit the grocery for tonight's dinner after all, and there was preparation and cooking to do afterwards.

Shirou blinked as he heard someone call his name, and turning saw of the _kyuudo_ team's members running for him. "What's wrong, Sakazaki?" Shirou asked as the other boy finally caught up with him. It had been a while since he'd left the _kyuudo_ team, but he still remembered the names of his old teammates.

"Sorry, Emiya," Satoshi Sakazaki began after he'd regained his breath. "I need to ask you for a favor."

"Okay," Shirou began. "What do you need?"

"Can I ask you to clean up the _kyuudo_ building today?"

"What?"

Satoshi scratched the back of his head uncomfortably. "Yeah," he began, looking and sounding very uncomfortable. "You see, my parents are out of town right now, and my younger sister got caught shoplifting and…yes well, you can imagine..."

"Shoplifting?" Shirou echoed in alarm. "Your sister? Seriously?"

"Yes." Satoshi said with a nod. "She's with the cops right now, and well, Fujimura-sensei wants me to meet her at the police station."

Shirou didn't hesitate. He could see that Satoshi was clearly worried about his little sister (and probably angry that she'd been shoplifting), and if he was dropping Taiga's name it was clearly genuine. It was well-known that he – Shirou – was Taiga's ward, and could easily confirm if something had turned up that needed her personal attention.

Though, even if it was a ruse, Shirou would still take over cleaning up the _kyuudo_ building for Satoshi. It wasn't like he had anything else really important to do, and he supposed in a way it was helping others, so long as it didn't involve hurting people or anything criminal or fundamentally wrong.

Well, there was his part-time job, but he could afford being late or even absent every so often. He was on good terms with the boss and his daughter, and they would understand and had understood when 'school stuff' had kept him from going to work in the past. And, it wasn't like he hadn't and didn't perform up to and more than expected from him at work.

So…it should be alright, taking over for Satoshi today.

"Okay." Shirou said with a nod. "I'll do it."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's fine."

"Oh, thank you very much!" Satoshi said with a very deep bow, and flustering Shirou greatly.

"Y-you're welcome, but anyway enough with that, you're making a scene." Shirou said with raised hands and a step back, and Satoshi rose from his bow, grinning and rubbing his head with mild embarrassment. "Anyway, you should get going and meet up with Fuji-nee at the police station, so you can take your sister home."

"Yeah," Satoshi said with a nod. "That sounds good…oh?"

The two boys turned in the direction of the track and field team, where the captain was loudly giving orders and two girls were headed for the track. One of them was Kaede Makidera, a tall and tanned athlete also known by her nickname 'Maki', and as the fastest runner on the team.

The other was a year younger than Maki or Shirou, Sakura Tohsaka, a slightly-tomboyish girl said to be second in popularity only to Rin. But where Rin was aloof and distant, an idol on a pedestal to be adored and looked up to, Sakura was friendly and outgoing, easy to talk to and approach, though Shirou himself had never talked to her in the past.

He knew enough though that in addition to being a fast and skilled runner herself, she was also bright and studious, enough to claim the highest grades in her class and with it, the post of class representative. In fact, with her popularity and looks, if she wanted to leave the track and field team and run for the council presidency next year, she'd likely succeed Rin as council president, or so Rin herself had said. And speaking of looks…

Satoshi whistled and grinned, focusing on Sakura in the distance. "Looks like the track and field team are going to be holding mock dashes." He said appreciatively. "Which means…those puppies Tohsaka has…"

"W-what are you saying?" Shirou asked, scandalized.

"You don't know?" Satoshi replied, looking surprised. "After Matou, Tohsaka's got the biggest breasts in this school, even bigger than Mitsuzuri's. And when girls with breasts that big – unlike Makidera – run…"

Satoshi trailed off with a suggestive gesture with his hands, and prompting Shirou to cough primly. "Anyway," he said. "Don't you have someplace else to go to? You know, little sister in trouble and all? Fuji-nee wants you to meet her?"

"Oh right, I almost forgot!" Satoshi said, slightly taken aback. Turning back to Shirou, he adjusted his backpack and nodded again. "Sorry about that, I got sidetracked. Sorry Emiya, I'll make it up to you someday!"

"It's fine." Shirou said, turning to follow the other boy with his eyes as Satoshi ran off with a hand raised in goodbye. "I'll take care of it."

Satoshi nodded before turning a corner and vanishing, and with a sigh, Shirou turned back towards the school grounds. Initially walking for the _kyuudo_ building, as he passed by he paused to watch as the track and field team conducted the last dash for the afternoon. Inevitably, given Satoshi's…suggestive, remarks, Shirou found his attention focused on Sakura.

" _They really are big._ " Shirou uncomfortably found himself thinking before turning his attention away from Sakura's breasts – the size and curve of which were unnecessarily emphasized by the sports bra rendered nearly visible through her sweat-soaked shirt sticking to her skin – to her face.

In a moment, Shirou concluded that she was undoubtedly pretty, even with drops of sweat all over and running down her face. But, what struck him the most then and there, as Sakura crouched in a runner's starting position with her hands against the ground, was her smile.

 _No…it's not a smile. Not quite…it's not a grimace either…it's almost like…like someone who knows that they're going to lose but even so…_

Blinking, Shirou regarded Sakura in her entirety, noting how she seemed to relax and yet not relax at the same time.

 _She's like a coiled spring._

The captain blew his whistle, and at once Maki and Sakura seemed to shoot forward, and causing Shirou to consciously put effort to keep track of their progress over the track. And once again, he found his eyes drawn to Sakura's face, and was again struck by her smile.

 _It's a smile alright._

 _But…it's so uncaring. Almost like…nothing else matters except what happens here and now…_

Shirou found himself smiling with respect at such determination and focus, his head quickly turning to follow the runners along the track. Maki and Sakura kept pace with each other, neither able to draw a lead on each other, but as they passed the hundred-meter mark, Sakura erupted with a burst of speed, quickly gaining a lead over Maki.

But, just a few moments later, Maki herself erupted with a similar burst of speed, quickly catching up to Sakura, and as Sakura began to lose momentum and wear out, gained a step's lead over the younger girl just as they crossed the finish line. " _So close…_ " Shirou thought.

He smiled wider as he saw the older girl congratulate and give advice to the younger girl, who responded with a smile and a nod before joining Maki on a cooldown lap. But as she turned her head, her eyes met Shirou's.

Both their eyes widened, and then pausing Sakura smiled and nodded at him across the distance. Shirou blinked, and then smiled and nodded himself. Sakura kept up the gaze for a moment more before turning away to begin her cooldown lap, and noting the rest of the track and field team already heading for the showers – with the runners joining them later once they'd finished their cooldown lap – Shirou himself turned away and headed for the _kyuudo_ building.

He had work of his own to do.

* * *

" _Are you finished?_ "

" _Depends…what time is it?_ "

" _You've been in the shower for nearly an hour now._ "

" _Is it dark outside?_ "

" _Yes._ "

" _As in really dark?_ "

" _Yes. Or if you're asking if it's really nighttime as opposed to some fraction of twilight, then yes, it's nighttime._ "

" _Okay, I'll be out in a bit._ "

Sakura turned the shower knob, the rain of water falling down from the showerhead ceasing to a trickle before dripping to nothing. Shaking her head, Sakura sent water droplets flying all around the shower cubicle before waking out naked, headed towards the opposite wall where she took a towel hung on a hook and began wiping herself dry.

There was no else left in the gym's women's showers and locker room, the rest of the track and field team – including Maki – having gone on ahead. A few – again including Maki – had offered to stay until Sakura was done, but Sakura had persuaded them to go on ahead.

Left on her own, Sakura had indulged in the shower, luxuriating in the cool spray even after washing down, until Archer – who she'd tasked with keeping watch _outside_ – had dryly asked if she was done or not. " _I just wanted to make sure everyone else in school had left._ " Sakura sent the thought to her Servant. " _I could have waited for that in hiding, but that's boring. And I was tired and sweaty. A long, cool shower would fix that._ "

" _Did it?_ " Archer asked.

" _Yes._ " Sakura replied. " _I'm ready for what's to come. He's still there, isn't he?_ "

" _Yes._ " Archer confirmed. " _And from the feel of things, he wants to get started already._ "

" _Is that right?_ " Sakura asked, finished drying her body and starting on her hair. " _I think we can let him wait a bit more. Unless you're impatient too._ "

" _No, I can wait._ " Archer replied. " _I suppose I can ponder the mysteries of the universe for a while longer yet._ "

" _…sarcasm doesn't suit you._ "

" _I was serious._ "

" _Really? Alright then, because while I'm no longer tired and sweaty, I'm a little hungry, and I bought a few veal sandwiches from the canteen earlier._ "

"…"

Sakura laughed at the meaningful silence in their telepathic link, and wrapping her towel around herself stepped in front of the sink and its mirrors. " _There should be two in my bag in the locker room_." She said. " _Go ahead and take one if you want. Oh, and feel free to take a peek if you're tempted._ "

"… _right._ "

Laughing to herself at the sense of exasperation coming from her Servant, Sakura took a comb and began to fix her hair.

* * *

Sakura whistled as she stepped out into the open, walking a third of the way out from the main building across the quadrangle. "Looks like we pissed them off," she remarked on the enemy Servant's aura. "Making them wait so long."

" _It seems that way._ " Archer replied.

Sakura chuckled, and closed her eyes for a few moments. Opening them, she whirled and looked up with a small smile. "Sorry to keep you waiting." She loudly called out.

The air shimmered, and then a figure in blue and silver materialized on the roof of the main building. The Servant was male, tall and lean with harsh if not unhandsome features, blue hair roughly swept back over his head. Silver earrings hung from his ears, and through reinforced eyes Sakura could see the sour expression on the Servant's face.

"Honestly," the Servant said. "You sure kept me waiting, little girl!"

"What can I say," Sakura said with a shrug. "I like to take my time, and to just take things easy."

The Servant snorted, and then to Sakura's surprise, laughed. "Women do like to take their time when it comes to making themselves look presentable, don't they?" he asked.

"What's that got to do anything?" Sakura asked back.

"Nothing," the enemy Servant replied. "Though, I suppose now that you've finally come out in the open like this, it's about time we got to business didn't we?"

Not waiting for Sakura's response, the Servant swept out with a hand, a crimson spear flashing into existence in its grasp. As Sakura's eyes widened in realization, the newly-revealed Lancer leaped off the building, and landed smoothly on the quadrangle between Sakura and the gate, thus cutting off her line of retreat.

At once, Archer materialized between them. "A spear," he said laconically. "I'm guessing you're the Lancer then."

"Correct." Lancer said with a smile, stepping into a stance.

"Well, Sakura?" Archer asked, but keeping his eyes on Lancer in front of them. "What do you plan to do?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Sakura asked back without any sign of hesitation. "We've come this far, throwing down the gauntlet along the way. And the enemy's picked it up. So give them what they want, Archer!"

Without a word, Archer traced a pair of Chinese scimitars, one with a blade and hilt black as coal, the other with a blade and hilt as white as snow. In the next moment he leaped forward, a blur of red and black in the light of the Moon.

"An Archer fighting like a Saber?" Lancer sneered as he leapt to meet Archer's charge, a blur of blue in the night. "Don't joke around!"

The crimson spear stabbed forward, only to be caught between the two scimitars and turned upward. Undeterred, Lancer pressed the attack, his spear turning in an arc before stabbing at Archer again.

Archer parried with one sword, before charging forward and swinging his other sword at Lancer. Lancer jumped back, also pulling his spear back before stabbing fast and hard several times. Archer parried all the blows, and again charged in close after parrying the last blow, and swung twice at Lancer.

Lancer again jumped back, and then swinging his spear in a broad arc, struck with the edge and not the point of his spear. A second swing followed, in the opposite direction from the previous one, again parried by Archer, who then charged forward.

The spear stabbed forward and down, allowing Lancer to use it vault over a surprised Archer. Landing behind him, Lancer now stabbed at Archer's back, but the other Servant was already turning, a sword rising to parry successfully.

Another stab knocked the other sword from Archer's hand, and forcing Archer to jump back, Lancer in quick pursuit. In response, Archer hurled his last remaining sword in a black blur at Lancer, who swatted it aside with a sneer…before his eyes went wide, as he saw Archer charging at him, with _both_ scimitars in his hands.

Crossing both blades in front of him, Archer then uncrossed them and striking sparks from Lancer's spear threw Lancer back. Then keeping close, to prevent Lancer from taking advantage of his weapon's longer reach, he struck twice with one sword, up diagonally from the hip to the left shoulder, and then back down.

And then he stabbed forward and down to the right with his other sword, and then swung up and to the left, with enough force to throw Lancer to one side and away from Sakura with a cry. Determined to retain the initiative, Archer charged in again, swords crossed, and uncrossing them sent more sparks flying as Lancer parried with his spear.

Lancer skidded back into a crouch, Archer hot in pursuit. "You're pretty good." Lancer said grudgingly before unexpectedly jumping forward, spear held low and stabbing forward as he got in close.

Archer dodged to one, pivoting to strike at Lancer's back. Likewise, Lancer twisted his body, and narrowly avoiding the strike to his back stabbed at Archer's side. Archer turned the attack, but again Lancer twisted his body, the spear arcing out to strike at Archer's head.

Archer was forced to give ground to avoid taking a hit, and Lancer jumped into a stance before leaping forward to counterattack. A lightning-fast barrage of stabs was blocked, before a pair of swings tore both swords clear of Archer's hands.

With a roar, Lancer stabbed in, seemingly-seeking to carve Archer's heart from his chest. Archer again gave ground, both swords rematerializing in his hands, and parrying a feint, riposted the real attack, striking in at Lancer's torso.

Lancer dodged and counterattacked, Archer again parrying and counterattacking himself. "Hey, who are you?" Lancer asked with a smile as he charged. "I've never heard of an Archer with two swords before."

"Who knows?" Archer replied, dodging to one side before charging in swords low and striking upward at Lancer's flank. Lancer jumped back, striking down to knock Archer's swords away before stabbing forward and forcing Archer to jump back.

"You're fairly recognizable though." Archer said, clearly unfazed as he jumped back with Lancer on his heels. "There aren't that many Lancers as good as you."

Light flashed as Archer's swords rematerialized in his hands, and swinging them up turned Lancer's attack away.

* * *

The sound of steel against steel from outside drew Shirou's attention, the boy letting go of the rag he was using to wipe the floor and getting up, rushed outside to see what was going on. His eyes widened in shock at the sight that met him just a few steps outside the _kyuudo_ building's door.

Two strangely-dressed men – including one in blue _spandex_ of all things – were fighting each other in the school quadrangle. One with a pair of swords, one black and the other white, while the other had a red spear.

The speed and force of their battle was incredible. They were blurs through the air, one blue and silver, the other red and black, visible only in full whenever their weapons met and their momentum was forced to a halt. The impact of their weapons was at the high end to displace the surrounding air, and at the low end to send sparks flying as steel ground against steel.

 _What's going on here?_

 _Who are they?_

 _Why are they fighting?_

 _And more than that… **what** are they? Magi? Or something else supernatural? Ordinary people can't fight like that!_

Shirou blinked, and saw as the man in blue jump in, stabbing with his spear which the man in red and black parried and riposted, forcing the man in blue to back off. The sight of the spear in action caused him to remember something he, Issei, and Shinji had been discussing a couple of days ago.

 _It was a murder._

 _An entire family slaughtered in their home at night. The police have no suspects or murder weapon, and this is the strangest part, from the way the family was killed, the murder weapon was a weapon with a long blade, like a sword or a spear._

 _…a sword…a spear…_

 _Just like those…people…are fighting with…_

As Shirou thought that, the man in blue caught sight of him as he jumped back from yet another one of the man in red and black's attacks. "Who's that?" he demanded, and gasping in alarmed realization Shirou turned and bolted for the school.

Growling at the interruption, the man in blue leapt off in pursuit, while the man in red and black glanced at the girl watching from the sidelines, who Shirou had failed to notice much less recognize.

"Oh no!" Sakura said, already turning the school building herself. "Someone was still here? Archer, hurry!"

* * *

Shirou ran.

He just knew that if either of those two who'd been fighting managed to catch up with him, it would _not_ end well for him…probably permanently so. So he ran, and ran, and ran, not caring where he went or how many corners he turned.

All that mattered was that he lost his pursuer or pursuers in the corridors and rooms of the academy, and that he could avoid them until they either moved on or abandoned the pursuit. Ignoring the protests of his muscles and the burning in his lungs, Shirou just ran through the school, until finally he slumped down against a corridor in…someplace dark, in the school's interior.

For a few moments he just sat there, legs and lungs burning from the sudden exertion, the boy breathing heavily to catch his breath. " _Did I lose them?_ " Shirou thought.

"Hey." The man in blue suddenly asked next to him, and with a yelp Shirou jerked to the side and down against the ground.

Before him, the man in blue stood with his spear resting against a shoulder, looking down at Shirou with a resigned smile. "You ran pretty far." He remarked. "But, this is as far as you go."

Shirou gasped and then his eyes bulged as faster than he could see, the red spear stabbed down and into his chest, piercing his heart. "Dead men tell no tales." The man in blue said, pulling the spear out in a fountain of blood.

And Shirou knew no more.

* * *

Sakura turned a corner and noticed the body lying in a pool of blood after only a few more steps. A snarl of frustration left her lips, and she punched the wall next to her angrily. "Damn it!" she spat before whirling on her Servant behind her. "Check the surroundings! Make sure the enemy Servant, or anybody at all, is gone."

Archer nodded, and vanished into astral form. For a few more moments, Sakura just stood there in silence in the dark, and then with a sigh, slowly turned and walked towards the boy lying in his own blood. "Damn it," she muttered. "I got careless. I should have checked if everybody was gone, instead of just assuming that based on the time. I should have…"

Sakura trailed off, her face twisted with a mixture of regret and sadness. "I'm sorry." She finally said. "I might as well have killed you myself. Even though I…"

Sakura trailed off and her eyes widened as she saw who the boy on the ground was. "No way," she whispered. "This can't be…why are you…"

Sinking down to a crouch, she slowly grabbed his collar, and shook him. "Why…why were you here?" Sakura demanded angrily. "Why…why did it have to be you…"

Letting out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding, Sakura let Shirou sink back into his blood, and lowered her head, eyes closed and teeth grit together. Several moments later and opening her eyes, she sadly sighed while reaching out to fix Shirou's collar. "Were you…" she whispered. "Were you helping out again? Someone else's chores or something? Honestly…you really were too nice for your own good…"

Trailing off, Sakura sighed again, and then leaning over Shirou began trying to clean him up. "At the very least," she said, preparing to try and lift him away from his own pool of blood. "You deserve more dignity than…"

Sakura trailed off, her eyes widening as she felt something. "No way," she whispered, placing a hand on Shirou's chest. After a few moments, she lifted it away, and placed her hand against his lips. After a few moments, she took it away too, confirming what she'd felt and hoped.

He was alive.

His heart was beating.

He was breathing, weakly yes, but breathing still for all that.

 _He was alive._

 _But how?_

The question made Sakura hesitate briefly, but only briefly. She pulled out a handful of gems, but glancing once at Shirou's body made her reconsider. And then replacing them back in her pocket, she pulled out a massive ruby, set in silver on a silver chain, the jewel glowing from within with magical energy.

" _Sorry dad._ " Sakura thought as she rose to her feet, holding the gem over Shirou's body. " _But it looks like I'm going to have to break your heart again. But then again, that's just the kind of person I am, aren't I? Sempai is kind to a fault, but me? I'm just a heartless angel who likes to play pretend._ "

As her circuits flooded with prana and the gem began to glow brighter, Sakura began to speak her aria.

 _Fang die körperliche Diagnostik an. Identifizier die Strukturelemente und steh für die körperliche Rekonstruktion bereit. Konzeptionelle Variablen sind identifiziert. Fang die Korrektur an. Drei rot, vier blau, ein grün..._

* * *

A/N

Short fight I know, but Lancer vs. Archer at the start of the war is pretty vanilla so to speak, no need to dawdle there. Still sticking heavily to stations of the canon for now, but you have to start somewhere, and we'll move onto the changes soon enough.

Translation for the aria: Start of physical diagnostics. Identify structural elements and standby for physical reconstruction. Conceptual variable identified, beginning of correction. Three red, four blue, one green…


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Transposition

Chapter 4

 _Rain fell from a leaden sky, pouring heavily down on burning ruins. Steam hissed as the rain fell, water evaporating as it struck searing-hot stone and metal, flames spluttering as the water soaked into their fuel and drowned them into inactivity._

 _Smoke rose in grey columns as the fires died down, and then subsided themselves as smoldering fuel was doused and cooled by the rain. A boy stumbled through the ruins, his clothes singed and blackened, burns dotting patches of exposed skin, his eyes and face alike blank from his experiences._

 _Coming to a halt, the boy stared blankly ahead of him for a moment, and with a weak whimper collapsed, crumpling backward to fall with a muddy splash on the ground. He lay silent, breathing weakly as he stared up at the leaden sky, uncaring of the rainfall on and around him, and splashing into the blackened ground._

 _And as he lay there, he remembered. He remembered the flames licking at his skin, the baking heat of the air around him, and the screams and the wails of the dying._

 _He remembered walking through the ruins, struggling through a sea of fire in the dead of night, all conscious thought swallowed up by a base, animal instinct to survive. All that mattered was going forward, to make one shaky step after another, to keep going no matter how much it hurt, no matter how much easier it would be to simply give up and succumb._

 _And he remembered how there were others in those flames, and how many of them noticed his passing. He remembered their cries and pleas, how they begged for him to help them, and to not leave them behind._

 _And he remembered ignoring them, remembered leaving them behind, remembered how he left them to die, putting his survival over theirs._

 _And he would never forget, all his life._

 _But in that moment, as he lay helplessly in the mud, with no knowledge of who he was and where he had come from, all that he could think of was that he was alive. He was alive. He'd come this far, through all the pain and suffering, and lived to see another day. He was alive._

 _He was alive._

 _But now that he'd done this much, the effort to go so far, to reach this point, finally caught up to him. It was enough, wasn't it? And he'd left behind so many to die to get here. Now…now…_

 _…maybe it was his turn?_

 _Slowly, the boy closed his eyes, his breathing growing weaker, finally allowing himself to give way to the temptation to just let it go. He felt the rain continuing to fall on and around him, the cooling air and the muddy ground stealing the warmth from his body, but it didn't matter anymore. All that was left was to wait for death to come for him in his turn._

 _For a long time, there was only the sound of the falling rain and the growing coldness, but then there came a new sound. Slow, heavy footsteps, splashing softly on the muddy ground, coming closer and closer with every step. Despite having decided to accept his fate, the boy weakly opened his eyes as the footsteps came to a halt beside him, and beheld the empty-eyed visage of a man with dark eyes and hair staring down at him._

 _Mud splashed as the man fell to his knees, tears and rainwater mixing on his face, twisted with a desperate smile. It was the smile of someone who'd found what he was looking for, the smile of someone who'd suffered so much and was finally being saved from his torment._

 _Why?_

 _Why would that man smile like that in a place like this?_

 _Why was that man smiling at him like that?_

 _Why?_

 _Slowly, the boy closed his eyes again. He barely registered the man's movements, the warmth spreading slowly through his body, the pain and the weakness draining away, and the man pulling him into a crushing embrace._

 _When next the boy opened his eyes, he would be lying in a warm hospital bed, dressed in clean clothes, bandages wrapped around his body and over his injuries. And moments after that, realization struck._

 _He was alive. So many had died, but he had survived. He had survived._

Shirou opened his eyes, and he gasped explosively, forcing air into his lungs under his own power. For a few moments he just lay there, breathing heavily, and then with a groan forced himself up on his elbows into a slouch.

The sound of something light yet hard falling to the ground beside him caused Shirou to glance in its direction, and he blinked as he picked up a large ruby attached to a silver chain. As he held it up, he seemed to remember something, a girl's voice speaking firmly in a foreign language, and unreal light washing down from above.

"What…who was that?" Shirou murmured, lowering the jewel before wincing and grabbing at his bloody chest.

As he did so, he remembered the man in blue with the red spear, and how he had chased Shirou down before stabbing him in the heart. "That was…" Shirou muttered before forcing himself to get up, leaning against the wall immediately afterward. "No…"

Shirou looked down at his bloody form, and at the blood – his blood – spilled on the ground. "I…should be dead." He said softly, rubbing his aching chest, the pain slowly but surely going away. "I should be. Whoever or whatever that was, I'm sure they stabbed my heart. But…why am I still alive?"

Shirou blinked, and holding up the ruby on the its chain again remembered the girl's voice and the light that came with it. "Who was that?" he asked again as he lowered the jewel. "And…did they…did she save me?"

Shirou kept leaning against the wall for another moment, and then with a grunt of pained exertion forced himself to start walking away, tucking the jewel and its chain into a pocket.

* * *

Archer sighed as he sat in the Tohsaka mansion's living room's couch. Turning his head, he glanced at his Master, who was staring, arms crossed over her chest, out a window into the night outside.

" _Nothing like Rin at all,_ " he thought to himself, noting the sleeveless, black, printed shirt and dark-colored shorts Sakura wore, a dark-colored sports jacket lying thrown over a nearby armchair. " _And still so very like her._ "

"I'm appalled." He said. "You used one of your most valuable jewels just to save a witness. Sakura, I'm sure you know the rule when it comes to witnesses is to shut them up, permanently if necessary. And yet you…"

Sakura ignored him, her thoughts elsewhere as she stared out into the night. It's not that she wasn't listening though, just subconsciously filing away what her Servant was talking about for later.

 _Sakura laughed at a joke told by a friend, but noticed something as she glanced out a window in passing. "What is that?" she asked._

 _"It's a PE class."_

 _"I can see that!" Sakura replied shortly at the cheeky question, the other girl grinning and sticking her tongue out at Sakura. "I meant **that**."_

 _By that, Sakura was referring to a redheaded upperclassman trying to manage a high jump that was clearly too high for his level…and from the wrong direction to boot. "I don't know." Sakura's friend answered. "Maybe he's doing it as a dare or something? I don't know why else anyone would do what he's doing."_

 _"I see…"_

 _Sakura looked out the window again, and watched for several moments more as the boy continued what he had been doing. Eventually she lost interest and moved on, thinking the boy would do so as well after a bit._

 _He didn't._

 _Twenty minutes later, and he was still at it, and still was an hour later. It was stupid and should have been treated as such, but…_

 _…that expression on his face...that air of determination around him, as though even though the boy already knew it could not be done he'd still try and somehow do it regardless..._

 _...and he eventually did._

 _"Hey, who was that upperclassman anyway?"_

Sakura blinked, and then turned to face Archer. The Servant stopped speaking mid-sentence, caught off-guard by the cold expression on her face. And then she blinked and smiled, and looked way as her smile turned strangely bittersweet.

"Stupid?" she echoed. "Maybe it was. I don't regret it though. If I had to do it all over again, I'd do the same thing."

"But why?" Archer asked. "I mean I know he's a schoolmate of yours but is that really enough of a reason to use something so valuable as that jewel from earlier to save his life?"

"So I should have just let him die?"

"Yes." Archer replied bluntly. "He was already dying when you found him, stabbed and left bleeding out by Lancer. A lost cause by all accounts, and instead you squandered a prized jewel and all the prana it had for him."

Sakura glared at Archer. "Human lives should not be so cheaply treated!" She vehemently said much to his surprise. And then in the next moment she smiled sadly and looked away again. "Well, they shouldn't be. And neither should efforts meant to save them. But, the world doesn't work like that, does it?"

Archer was at a loss for words. "Well," Sakura said. "I don't regret it, and there's point in crying over spilled milk. Even if we killed him – not that I will nor will I let you – we won't get back the prana used to save his life. So let's leave it at that."

Silence fell between them for several long moments, and then Sakura sighed before turning back to the window. "Earlier you asked why, didn't you?" she said. "Well, I have two answers, but I don't know which is the right one. It could be both, either, or even neither."

Archer could only stare, and Sakura took his silence as indication to continue. "First, maybe this heartless angel isn't as heartless as she thinks she is." Sakura said, the bitter smile on her face something Archer could only stare at. "Or maybe, she's even more selfish than she thinks she is."

 _Sakura was watching as the rest of the track and field team were practicing, when a swallow swooped down towards her. Raising a hand, the bird winged over to perch on a finger._

 _"Oh wow," one of her friends said. "Birds really do like you, don't they?"_

 _"I guess they do." Sakura replied absentmindedly. It wasn't just a bird though it was actually one of her familiars. And it was telling her how Shirou had been roped into – and willingly **again** – doing someone else's chores for them just so they could idle away someplace else._

 _In this case, Shirou had to clean a classroom all by himself, and from what her familiar said, he was surprisingly cheerful while at it._

 _It was stupid and incomprehensible, and yet…from what she'd seen and heard of her sempai ever since she'd started looking into him after watching him try that high jump months ago…_

 _"He's just that kind of person, I guess." Sakura thought, raising her hand to let her familiar fly off. "He may be too nice for his own good, but…it's not bad."_

Sakura didn't say any more after that, just staring out the window in silence as Archer looked down in thought. " _Why do they always fall for that idiot?_ " he asked himself. " _And why do they always have to be this…difficult? Rin always pretended she was colder and crueler than she really was, and Sakura…_ "

Archer sighed as he let the thought trail off, and glanced at the counterpart of the hapless girl he remembered. " _This girl,_ " she thought. " _That smile and what she just said says so much about how she really is, and yet, also raises more questions._ "

Archer briefly closed his eyes, and sighed again. " _Maybe,_ " he thought to himself before shaking his head. " _No…I shouldn't…_ "

Archer sighed. "Even if we let it go," he said. "Lancer won't."

 _Shall I play my role in this second-rate drama to the very end to the best of my abilities?_

Sakura glanced at him curiously. "What?" she asked.

"If he finds out that the witness is still alive," Archer said, neutrally watching as Sakura's eyes widened in alarm and realization. "Then…"

Archer trailed off as Sakura turned and ran for the doorway, grabbing her jacket as she passed by. "Let's move it, Archer." She shouted.

"No."

Sakura stumbled and nearly fell, turning her head to look at him over a shoulder in disbelief. Archer stared back, his face set with uncaring determination, though inwardly he was resigned at how this was going to play out.

"What do you mean no?" Sakura asked, half-turning towards him.

"I mean it, no." Archer said, sitting back in the couch and crossing his arms over his chest. "There's no need for either of us to take action to save that schoolmate of yours, in fact I'd even say doing so would be a wasted effort. He might already be dead by the time we reach him, and even if he isn't, to really keep him safe you'll have to take custody of him. In short: he'll be a burden, and one I refuse to take or let you take."

Sakura gaped, wide-eyed at him. It would have been funny had the situation not been so serious. After a couple of moments, Sakura pulled herself together, and glared at Archer. "Right," she ground out. "That's your entitled opinion and I respect that. But I'm also your Master, and we are going to save Emiya-sempai, and I am ordering you to get off that couch and come with me to keep Lancer from finishing the job!"

"I refuse to accept those orders."

"Archer!"

Archer merely smiled at the increasingly-petulant reactions, a smile that went out like a light as Sakura raised a hand, her three command spells glowing. "Don't make me do this, Archer." She said.

"You wouldn't."

"By the power of the command spell…" Sakura began, a command spell flaring before vanishing.

 _Some things just never change._

* * *

Shirou came home to a dark and empty house.

That's wasn't surprising, though. It was late, far later than even when he worked overtime at his part-time job in the city. So he couldn't really expect either Taiga or Rin to wait for him before eating dinner, much less going home. Taiga might not live too far away, but Rin lived across the city.

They did however, leave a covered plate of food and a note for Shirou on the dining room table. Shirou took it in a glance despite the dark – it was rather short – and ignoring the food, slumped wearily against a nearby wall. Things being what they were Shirou had understandably little appetite.

He didn't know how long he sat there in the dark, head bowed as he thought about everything that had happened earlier in the evening. The battle between those two…people, in the school's quadrangle. Getting noticed and then chased down by one of those two combatants. And then getting stabbed and…

…well, he clearly wasn't dead, but…he should be. He just knew he should be dead. And yet here he was.

The weight of the jewel in his pocket hinted at why that was the case, as did the barely-remembered memory of a girl speaking in a foreign language with that strange light. Was that a magus? Was what he heard a spell? A spell that saved his life, but if so, why?

Shirou would probably have asked more questions as he thought about the events from earlier, but the sudden burst of killing intent that saturated the house caught him by surprise. And worst of all, he recognized it.

It was the same killing intent from the man in blue who'd stabbed him in the heart.

"He followed me here?" Shirou gasped, trying to get to his feet only for his legs to give out under him and send him sprawling on the ground. "I need a weapon, anything!"

Scrambling around in desperation, it took only a moment for Shirou to find and pick up a rolled tube of paper with thin metal plates on the back. Despite the situation, Shirou found himself smiling at a painful memory from the previous night.

 _"Ta-da!" Taiga said playfully while holding up a movie poster with her hands, and caused Shirou to jump to his feet in surprise. "They're old movie posters! I brought them over for…ah!"_

 _"That's not what I meant." Shirou said as he swiped the poster away, and rolling it up, made to strike Taiga with a shout._

 _Too slow…the moment he began to move, Taiga had recognized what he was doing and swiping up a still-rolled poster preempted Shirou. There was a clang of metal, and the rolled poster Shirou was holding fell to the ground._

 _"What was that?" Taiga said with a grin, as Shirou grit his teeth in pain and glared at her. "You're still ten years too young to be challenging a kendo veteran like me!"_

 _"That's not the point." Shirou ground out. "Are movie posters supposed to be hard like this?"_

 _Taiga jolted, and then recoiled in embarrassment. "Oh sorry!" she said with a nervous and flustered smile. "This was the limited edition with iron plates on the back."_

 _"IRON…?"_

 _Sitting to one side of the dysfunctional (surrogate) siblings, Rin yawned at their usual antics. "Dinner's getting cold." She deadpanned._

"It can't be helped." Shirou said with a small smile, tightening his grip on the poster. "All that's left to go to from here is up. Trace on."

Shirou closed his eyes, shutting out the searing pain of prana flowing through his body, and focused only on the poster in his hand. "Components, analyzed." He said. "Fundamental Structure, analyzed. Composition, reinforced."

Shirou opened his eyes and brandished his makeshift weapon in front of him. "Now, let's…!" Shirou began to say when a dark figure dropped down behind him.

Shirou turned his head, and narrowly dodged a blow that would have taken his head clean off otherwise. He was sent sprawling, and the food on the table spilled on the floor, but he was alive.

"Honestly," the man in blue growled. "And I went to all the trouble to make it painless too. Stay dead for good this time, brat!"

He stabbed forward with his spear, but Shirou skidded back onto his feet, avoiding getting skewered yet again. Undeterred, the man in blue pressed the attack with a series of stabs and slashes that Shirou clumsily parried, each blow striking with enough force to stagger him, the boy barely able to stay on his feet.

And then he was sent flying by a kick through a door, out onto the backyard. Scrambling away and to his feet, Shirou ran for the shed even as the man in blue jumped out after him.

Smirking, he flanked Shirou and kicking him in the flank sent him flying with a shout of pain to slam hard against one of the shed's walls before falling to the ground. At the same time, unnoticed by Shirou, a trio of symbols faded into view over a hand and down an arm. Clutching at his side, Shirou coughed and glared at his enemy, and then his eyes went wide as the man in blue threw his spear at him.

Somehow, Shirou avoided it, the spear stabbing into the ground with enough force that had it hit it would undoubtedly have pinned Shirou against the wall. Shirou was now again on his feet, only to be kicked through the shed's door in the next moment.

Shirou coughed and gasped on the floor, gingerly clutching at his side and belly. As he regained his breath, he turned his head, and gasped, wide-eyed at the man in blue crouched in a relaxed fashion in the doorway, spear held relaxed over a shoulder.

"Give it up." He said in a suffering tone. Something about that just made Shirou's blood boil, the pain vanishing in a blaze of adrenaline.

Shouting angrily, Shirou lunged at the man in blue who dodged back, graciously letting Shirou get to his feet before counterattacking. He struck once, twice, and then three times. Shirou blocked all three, but the third shattered his weapon into glittering shards that quickly crumbled into dust and had the man in blue briefly surprised, allowing Shirou to take a couple of step backs.

In the next moment though, the man in blue had fallen into a stance, his spear aimed squarely at Shirou's chest. "Checkmate." The man in blue said with a grin. "Sorry kid, but this is the end of the line. Shame…you might actually have been the seventh."

Unknown to Shirou, who had his back to it, a magic circle carved into the shed's floor was beginning to glow. Arcane symbols, lines and circles glowed softly as motes danced in the air above, while the symbols on Shirou's hand and arm flickered in sympathy.

Shirou grit his teeth and clenched his fists as he stared down the enemy in front of him. " _Die…?_ " he thought. " _I _'m going to die here? Damn it…! I can't die here! Not like this…not when I haven't done anything yet…not without having saved a single life…not without having changed a single thing! For my ideals…dad's ideals…not like this!__ "

At the thought, the symbols on Shirou's hand and arm flared bright and hot, as did the summoning circle behind Shirou. The man in blue and Shirou alike shielded their eyes from the light flooding into and out of the workshop, both turning toward the summoning circle to see prana coalescing into a petite, armored form in the middle.

And not just them: the light flooding out of the shed was easily visible a good distance away to anyone within line of sight, including Sakura and Archer as they closed in. "What's that?" Sakura asked in surprise.

There was a blast of wind, and with a cry the man in blue was sent flying out from the doorway and tumbling across the yard beyond. Shirou was also buffeted aside by the blast, and landed hard against a wall. As he lowered his arms, having used them to shield his face, he speechlessly regarded the person standing in front of him.

She was a girl of average height, wearing a dress of blue and white with rune-engraved plates of steel over her chest, torso, and skirt, heavy gauntlets covering her hands and forearms. Her blonde hair was tied back in a bun, bright green eyes regarding him coolly.

But that wasn't what struck Shirou the most.

That she was beautiful there could be no doubt.

No, what struck Shirou the most was the air that surrounded the beautiful girl. Though Shirou had never met anyone like her in the past, he just knew the only way to describe her was...'regal'.

Yes, here was someone used to command and being obeyed without question, and yet despite a part of him instinctively distrusting such an absolute existence, he _knew_ that this girl was one who would never abuse her authority, and would only ever use it as it should be used.

 _How? How did I know that?_

"Servant Saber," the girl said. "Here I stand by your summons. Answer me: are you my Master?"

* * *

A/N

Some things just will not change.

Still a short fight, but again, Shirou vs. Lancer is pretty cut and dry so no need to dawdle here like with the earlier Lancer vs. Archer fight. Some character development, but for the most part still stations of the canon. Don't worry, we'll get past those soon enough. For one thing the Rider isn't Medusa, so you can expect stations of the canon won't be applicable once they start involving (and develop from) the Blood Fort.


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Transposition

Chapter 5

Shirou stared up in awed stupefaction at the girl calling herself 'Saber', and blinked once as he pulled his thoughts together. "Saber…?" he echoed, and blinked again as the girl stepped closer.

"Servant Saber," she repeated. "If you are my Master, then here I stand by your summons, and by the power of the Holy Grail."

Shirou struggled to his feet, but before he could say anything, Saber gave an alarmed glance out the doorway before rushing out. "Hey, wait…! Shirou said while rushing after her, but came to an abrupt halt just a step out the doorway, staring at the scene that met him.

Saber rushed forward, wind rippling in white patterns over a vaguely sword-shaped form held low to one side. Against her, the man in blue charged forward, the red spear aimed at her heart.

Saber was silent, while the man in blue roared his battle fury aloud. Their weapons came together with the ringing sound of steel against steel, partly-muffled by the thunderous boom of displaced air. The two figures fell back after the initial clash, and then in the next instant charged forward again.

Once, twice, they crossed blades, falling back after both times. "An invisible sword…?" Shirou murmured, focusing on the unseen form of the weapon Saber was holding in her hand.

"Coward!" the man in blue shouted at Saber. "Show your weapon!"

Face set as though in stone, Saber silently charged forward, the man in blue looking shocked at such seeming insolence. Saber slashed twice, powerful two-handed blows that the man in blue parried with great effort, air displaced in thunderous blasts.

Finally, Saber gave a sound, shouting her fury before raising her sword and bringing it down with even more power than before. Wind erupted as she raised her weapon, funneling into a whirlwind around her invisible sword, and exploding outward as she brought it down.

The man in blue growled in frustration as he fell back rather than take the blow head on, but the powerful burst of wind caused him to skid back further than expected. "What's wrong, Lancer?" Saber asked with a hint of mockery. "Is this the best you can do? If it is, then your class weeps for you."

"Just one thing," Lancer asked with a smirk. "Your weapon, it's a sword isn't it?"

"Who knows?" Saber asked with a small smile. "It could be an axe, a spear, or even a bow."

Lancer laughed briefly, and then his face twisted into a sneer. "Shut up, _Saber_." He spat. He brandished his spear forward with point down, its form beginning to steam before glowing a dull, angry red. "How about it? We could call this fight a draw for now, and save it for another day."

"I refuse." Saber immediately said. "You will be defeated here."

"Is that so?" Lancer said with a bloodthirsty grin. "I never expected to have to use this so soon, but now that it's come to this…"

Lancer broke off, charging forward as he did so. "Your heart is mine!" he snarled as he leapt at Saber who dodged to one side and past, Lancer twisting around to hurl his spear at Saber. "Gae Bolg!"

Saber's eyes went wide, and though she dodged the spear it _bent_ up and stabbed through her chest, piercing armor, cloth, and flesh with ease and sending her flying. "Saber!" Shirou shouted, taking a step forward but stopping as he saw Saber quickly roll into a crouch, only to put a hand over her injury.

"You avoided getting killed by Gae Bolg…?" Lancer asked with unhappy surprise.

"Gae Bolg," Saber said softly in recognition. "The heart, or the body, is already pierced even before the spear is thrown, and its path alters to achieve that fate. Because of that there is no way to dodge, with only luck altering fate ahead of time capable of preventing a fatal blow. Such is the power of the cursed spear of the legendary hero of Ireland, Cu Chulainn: Gae Bolg, the Barbed Spear that Pierces with Death."

"I got unlucky, I see." Lancer said with a small laugh, relaxing and stepping away. "My Noble Phantasm is just too recognizable, and as you said despite the name using it doesn't automatically mean instant death. Oh well, that's just how things are I guess."

"Wait, where are you going?" Saber demanded as she saw Lancer beginning to walk away.

"Sorry," Lancer said apologetically, politely pausing to answer her over a shoulder. "Normally now that you know who I am I'd fight you to the death, but I've got a shitty Master who told me to retreat if I ever got into a serious fight or got discovered."

"Do you think I'm just going to let you leave?" Saber demanded, getting to her feet.

"I don't mind if you follow." Lancer said, turning away and walking over to a wall as he did so. "But if you do, then be prepared to die!"

Without another word Lancer leapt up and away, vanishing into the night. Saber stared after him, her bright green eyes unflinchingly focused in his direction, only turning away as Shirou approached.

For a long moment, Master and Servant just stared at each other, and then with a blink, Shirou glanced at Saber's injury, which was healing right in front of his eyes. "Amazing…" he said, before looking back up at Saber's face. "But, who are you?"

"As I said," Saber said. "I am the Servant Saber. By the power of the Holy Grail, I have answered your summons, to fight alongside you in this Holy Grail War."

"Holy Grail War?" Shirou echoed. "Wait, I don't know anything about that!"

"I understand." Saber said with a nod. "You are an improper Master. But even so, I have answered your summons, and bound your fate to my sword. Therefore, I will fight in this war for your sake, as much as for my own."

"As I said…" Shirou began in his turn, only to break off and clutch at his right arm as the tattoos he belatedly noticed began heating up. "What is this?"

Saber ignored him for a moment, looking off into the distance, and then turned back to her Master. "Master," she said. "More enemies are approaching. Heal me."

Shirou looked at her in surprise, his expression quickly morphing to one of apology. "Sorry," he said. "But I don't really know any healing spells. And besides, didn't your wounds heal already?"

"It only looks that way on the surface." Saber said, already looking away again. "Still, I should be good for one more battle, at least."

"Hey, wait!" Shirou shouted after Saber as the blonde girl ran off, Shirou in quick pursuit behind her.

* * *

Wind erupted as Saber raised her sword, funneling into a whirlwind around the invisible blade, and exploded outward as she brought it down in a two-handed stroke with all her might.

The black and white scimitars shattered like glass at the blow, their fragments joined by those of Archer's armor. The Servant of the Bow grit his teeth in pain and frustration, and began to crumple from the serious injury inflicted by Saber's attack.

"Archer, astral form now!" Sakura shouted, a second command spell vanishing.

It was done in an instant, and in the next Saber was charging forward, sword held low. Hissing, Sakura leapt back on reinforced limbs, a brilliantly-glowing jewel flying from her hand towards the advancing Servant. It should have exploded with the force of an A-rank High Thaumaturgy spell, enough to level an apartment building, but the moment it struck Saber's armor the gem shattered with the prana inside dispersing harmlessly into the air.

 _Oh no! Her magic resistance…it's…!_

"Saber stop!"

Saber stopped abruptly, eyes wide at the interruption. She turned her head over a shoulder, and looked back at Shirou who'd run after her. "Why?" she demanded. "She is an enemy! The Master of that second Servant! She should be eliminated as soon as possible!"

"Don't talk about killing people so casually!" Shirou shouted back. "And I don't even know what this whole thing is about either!"

"This whole thing?" Saber echoed. "This is the Holy Grail War. And it's precisely what it sounds like. So I will not obey those orders!"

For a long moment, silence fell, Shirou and Saber just stared at each other, and then the silence was broken as Sakura relaxed and took the initiative. She wasn't quite sure about her current situation in its entirety, but at the very least it seemed that she had at least gained a little breathing space to avoid getting killed by a Servant, what with her own Servant unexpectedly incapacitated.

"This isn't really something to be chatted about in the open like this." she observed lightly, at least on the surface, and drawing the attention of Saber and her Master, the former narrowing her eyes at the hidden steel beneath Sakura's words. Shirou however, just looked at her from the distance with a wary but confused expression on his face, as though he couldn't quite recognize.

It was understandable though, as they hadn't really interacted much before, and she was standing in the shadowed area between the cones of light from the streetlights. And he was standing somewhat far away too.

"Lower your sword Saber, and let's discuss this in private." Sakura continued, but as the realization of who Saber's Master was sunk in, Sakura's mind was thrown into a whirl.

 _Sempai…Emiya-sempai…that hardworking, kindhearted idiot upperclassman of mine is a Master. But that means he's a magus! And one right under my nose all this time!_

 _If so…could it be…he…_

 _No…what he said just now…he doesn't know about the Holy Grail War…an amateur maybe? Someone who isn't…one of us who isn't…hasn't been…_

 _If so…then maybe…there's still…_

"My sword is not lowered before an enemy!" Saber shouted, and Sakura laughed softly.

Holding out her arms to her sides and showing her empty hands, Sakura slowly stepped forward, ignoring Archer's warnings and questions in her head about what she was doing. "Then finish the job." Sakura said with a small smile and a challenging tone, surprising even herself at the sheer nerve of the gamble she was taking. "Though, I wonder if someone as knightly in appearance as you, can strike down an unarmed opponent, and one who's invoked parley."

Sakura stopped walking just a few steps short of Saber, two pairs of green and blue eyes staring into each other for a few moments, and then Saber lowered her sword. With a wary expression on her face she stepped aside for Sakura, who gave a small bow of respect and acknowledgement before stepping forward and past.

And as she stepped close enough for Shirou to make out her features, he gasped in surprise. "You...Tohsaka-san…?" he stammered out.

"Hey," Sakura said with a hand raised in greeting. "Good evening Emiya-sempai. It looks like we've got a lot of things to talk about."

* * *

Dark, bulging eyes watched as Lancer leaped over the skyline of Fuyuki City, the beetles' multifaceted, crystalline shells glowing gently with magical energy within. They watched from a safe distance, tracking the Servant's course and sharing this knowledge with others like them, either also watching from different places or waiting for the Servant to come within sight, and with one who could be called their 'mother'.

Lancer knew that he was being watched, of course.

He'd walked hundreds of battlefields, spilled so much blood, and faced death countless times in life, and his instincts were honed to perceive malevolent attentions directed at him from the vicinity. He didn't know who it was or how they did it, whether they would attack or not, only that he was being watched by unfriendly eyes.

 _Probably not Caster…if they were watching, they'd do it from a distance, and I wouldn't be able to tell. Definitely not Saber, and probably not Archer: I saw him and that Master of his going to Saber and her Master's place when I left._

 _So…Rider or Berserker, possible even Assassin if it's a sloppy one…_

Lancer grinned as he leaped from one building to another, changing course to a less built up area that would offer less chances of being discovered like had happened earlier. Tonight's fights had been rather…disappointing.

Well, not really: Archer had proven surprisingly good at close combat, only that boy who had somehow summoned Saber before Lancer could finish the job had wandered into the fray and ruined the battle. And then there was Saber.

Oh she was good, he could tell, if something of a stiff at first glance. Not only that, she was actually lucky enough to avoid getting killed by Gae Bolg, which alone made her worth the time and effort to fight to the death. Only…

…that damn priest's orders to disengage should his identity be compromised.

" _Hopefully if the watchers attack,_ " Lancer thought. " _It's Berserker. No restrictions if the enemy attacks first…and Berserker, no matter who they are, will undoubtedly put up a good fight. Though, I wouldn't mind Rider so long as they're a good one._ "

Lancer was still thinking that when he felt a Servant's presence. He grinned wider.

 _Challenge accepted…let's see what you're made of._

Lancer leaped from building to building, and finally arrived in the middle of a deserted, largely-completed apartment complex. "Show yourself!" he demanded. "You called me out here, so come on out!"

 _Please tell me it's not Assassin._

The sound of heavy footsteps caught Lancer's attention, and turning spotted an armored figure striding out of the building towards him. Lancer turned in its direction, and with a flash of light summoned his spear to his hand. The figure came to a halt.

For a long moment, the two Servants silently regarded each other. The newly-discovered Servant was on the short end of average, encased in heavy metal plates engraved with runes in blood-red, their face obscured by a visor, a pair of horns extended sideways and up from the Servant's helmet.

After a moment, Lancer grinned as he smelled the scent of blood that wafted from his enemy. Whoever this was, he could tell this fight was going to be good. He chuckled, and relaxing, placed his spear against a shoulder.

"You reek of blood." He observed.

"You would know, wouldn't you, Hound of Ulster?" A muffled voice responded from behind the visor, keeping Lancer from telling if the enemy was male or female.

 _Probably Rider then, though if they had Mental Corruption it could also be Berserker. It doesn't matter: from how much blood they stink of, I think I just hit the jackpot._

Lancer whistled at the enemy Servant's words. "Someone's observant." He quipped.

"Quite," the enemy Servant replied, and Lancer chuckled.

"You're getting impatient." He said. "I can tell. And to be honest, I am too. Still, you wouldn't mind telling me your class at least before we start, would you?"

There was a powerful blast of wind, flecked with crimson streaks of prana that reminded Lancer of blood. His eyes widened at the sword that appeared in his enemy's right hand, the enemy having swept out their hand to summon the wind and with it, their sword.

"I am Rider." The enemy Servant said, brandishing their sword, its long silver blade engraved with blood-red runes. Lancer narrowed his eyes, and stepped into his stance. The moment stretched, the two Servants staring at each other across the battlefield.

The ground broke beneath Rider's feet, the armored Servant leaping forward with a powerful burst of prana and wind. Lancer snarled at the speed, jumping back to avoid a one-handed swing that smashed the ground he had been standing on just a moment ago, and then Rider was leaping forward, launching wild but powerful swings one-handed.

Lancer danced away, and then brandishing his spear overhead charged in with a roar. Rider parried the first two blows, and then twisting away caught a third on an arm, sparks flying as it skidded off their armor.

Rider then counterattacked, two wild swings that Lancer avoided before stabbing in and forcing Rider into the defensive. Lancer pressed the offensive, launching a lightning-quick barrage of stabs that Rider dodged around, and then twisting around the final strike closed to slash upward two-handed.

Lancer stepped back, Rider in close pursuit. The silver sword rose and fell missing Lancer but blowing the ground apart and sending clouds of dust and debris into the air. After a moment, Lancer leapt clear, and turned around in time to see Rider charge out at him.

Lancer dodged swing after swing, and feinting with his spear kicked at Rider's gut. The Servant staggered back, Lancer kicking off to flip through the air and land in a crouch. Roaring, he charged forward, his spear aimed at Rider's heart.

Rider regained their footing in time to turn the attack down and to the side, and sparks flying where their sword skidded against Lancer's spear, charged in to punch Lancer in the face. Hissing in surprise, Lancer leapt back several times, Rider in close pursuit.

Brandishing his spear with a flourish, Lancer charged to meet Rider's own, the latter holding their sword high. Sparks and blood flew, and then the two Servants were past each other, slowing to a walk before coming to a halt.

Lancer reached down to his side, and took his hand away wet with blood. Rider did likewise, Lancer's spear having cut into their side as they dodged to one side, avoiding getting skewered if still taking a hit, and having twisted around as they passed Lancer had struck a glancing blow to his rear.

It mostly missed…but the furthest points of the swing had cut into his side, making this exchange even.

It didn't sit well with either, though they reacted differently. Lancer just grinned with excitement and settled back into his stance. "Looks like first blood's a draw." He said. "Shall we keep at it?"

"I'll make you pay for spilling my blood!" Rider spat, shaking with rage. With a roar they charged forward, sparks flying and thunderous booms erupting as their weapons repeatedly struck at each other.

And from one of the apartment units above, a girl watched, leaning against a wall beside an unfinished window. She was tall, with long violet hair that reached halfway down her back or pooled around her shoulders. She wore a white blouse under a long-sleeved sweater of lavender, over a knee-length skirt of black and matching knee socks and shoes.

A beetle flew in and settled on her shoulder, and Rin Matou closed her eyes for a moment. As she opened them, she reached up and patted her familiar with a hand, while narrowing her eyes at Lancer below.

" _Damn you,_ " she thought. " _I'll make you pay for hurting Shirou. And more than that…for giving Sakura a chance to sink her talons into him._ "

Rin closed her eyes, and sighed, her expression turning sad. " _She saved his life._ " She thought. " _Not me…_ "

The thought trailed off, Rin's expression turning cold as she glared back down at Lancer below. " _Damn you,_ " she thought. " _Whether you knew it or not, Lancer, and Kirei Kotomine._ "

* * *

Sakura coated the jade bead with her blood, her crest glowing on her arm, and tossed it onto the broken windows. The gem flashed as it struck the heap of broken glass, and to Shirou's awe and stupefaction, the windows pulled themselves back together. "Amazing…" he said.

"Hmm?" Sakura hummed before giving a short laugh. "Thanks for the compliment, but it's not really amazing. In fact, it's overly complex: a better magus could do that with just a drop of blood where I had to use a gemstone."

"Really?" Shirou asked. "So why can't you?"

"Oh, you're quite rude aren't you sempai?" Sakura asked with a teasing smile and tone, leaning in close. "I don't recall being related to you, that I should tell you the details of my mysteries."

Sakura grinned, feeling surprisingly warm talking to Shirou like this, while Shirou chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "I guess that was a bit rude, wasn't it?" he asked. "Sorry about that, but anyway…even if you say it isn't amazing, it's quite amazing to me. I can't do anything like that."

"Hmm?" Sakura hummed again, looking surprised. "Well, um, do you mean you can't do it like I do or you can't do it all?"

"And who's asking about mysteries now, huh?"

Sakura made a squeaking sound, like a stuffed toy being stepped on, and Shirou laughed. "No, it's alright." He said. "I don't mind. As for your question I can't do it at all."

Sakura blinked. "But," she began. "That's actually quite a simple and basic spell. Even if you don't have the right affinities, there are ways to go around the limitation like I did."

"Yeah," Shirou said, again rubbing the back of his head. "It's just that, I only…had my dad to teach me and well…"

"I see." Sakura said with a nod as Shirou trailed off. "Well, there's nothing shameful about that. What matters is you do your part, and what you pass on is greater than what you got."

Shirou nodded in agreement, and then Sakura crossed her arms before glancing at Saber standing silent and watchful a couple of steps behind Shirou. "So," Sakura said. "Am I right in guessing that you're an amateur then?"

Shirou laughed shortly and nodded. "I guess I can't deny it, can I?" he said, spreading his hands.

"Hmm," Sakura hummed in thought. "This doesn't make any sense. You're clearly telling the truth, and yet you somehow managed to summon Saber, the most outstanding of all the Servants. How you could have done that given your situation is beyond me."

Shirou just smiled apologetically and shrugged. And then he blinked, and his expression turned serious. "More importantly," he began. "Tohsaka-san, can you tell me about the Holy Grail War? What's it about? And what's all this Servant and Master business?"

Sakura hummed, looking into Shirou's eyes for several moments. Shirou was briefly taken aback, but held his ground. After a while, Sakura sighed and nodded.

"I'm probably not the best person to tell you." She said. "About the Holy Grail War, that is. I can tell you about the Master and Servant system though."

Shirou blinked, and then Sakura pointed at the tattoos on his hand and arm. "See those?" Sakura asked. "Those are command spells. They symbolize the contract between you and your Servant, who shall remain loyal to you and obliged to fight for you and to obey you so long as you have them. And they have another function."

"What's that?" Shirou asked, lowering his right hand and arm, having closely regarded his command spells while Sakura was talking.

"They're not called spells simply because." Sakura said. "Each of those tattoos actually allows for a single, absolute, and overriding command. Put another way, using them allows you to order your Servant to do something that they wouldn't normally do, even against their free will if necessary."

"That's barbaric!" Shirou exploded, and Sakura smiled.

"I guess it is, isn't it?" she answered. "But, I didn't come up with the command spells, I just received mine. And they can be useful, and not necessarily barbaric depending on how they're used."

"How can something which violates a person's free will not be barbaric?"

"Did I say it always violates their free will?" Sakura asked back. "It can do that yes, and yes, it can force them to do something they normally wouldn't do…or could."

Shirou blinked, catching the emphasis on the last part. "What do you mean by that?" he asked.

"In theory," Sakura said. "A Servant could do things just short of True Magic when empowered by a command spell. For instance, I get separated and cornered far from my Servant. By using a command spell and ordering him to come to me, he can…in an instant to boot."

"Teleportation?" Shirou echoed in surprise.

"I guess…it does fall in that category." Sakura said with a shrug. "It's more complex than that, but yeah, it fits."

"I see." Shirou said with a nod, again looking at his command spells. "Well, I guess it's not all bad, so long as it isn't abused or used for something that's inherently wrong."

"As you say," Sakura said with a nod before stepping past Shirou towards Saber. Saber neutrally regarded Sakura as the girl's crest flashed to life, and Sakura began moving a hand seemingly at random through the air around the Servant.

"You feel…incomplete." Sakura finally said. Saber regarded her for a moment, and then nodded.

"Yes." She agreed. "The connection between Shirou and myself is incomplete, and recovering prana will be difficult. And I cannot assume astral form."

"Hmm," Sakura hummed before glancing at Shirou. "Sempai, you heard that right?"

"Yes…"

"Sorry to say sempai," Sakura said. "But Saber's woes are all the result of your flawed summoning…however you did it."

Shirou made a few incoherent noises before coughing. "Any way to fix them?" he asked.

Sakura glanced at him, and then smiled and nodded. "I have a few ideas." She said, but she didn't elaborate. Instead, she walked away, and turned to look at Shirou and Saber from across the room. "More importantly, shall we get going?"

"Go?" Shirou echoed after a glance at Saber. "Go where?"

"To the person who's best suited to explain to you the Holy Grail War."

"And who's that?"

"Why the Overseer of the contest, of course."

* * *

A/N

And we have our first divergence from stations of the canon.

Rider Mordred from FGO is a joke character, so while this incarnation of Mordred is of the same class, she's more...normal, so to speak. That's all I'll say at this point.


	7. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Transposition

Chapter 6

Sparks flew in the night as Rider and Lancer continued to fight.

Lancer pressed the attack, stabbing in again and again and sending sparks flying as Rider parried each and every strike. A feint and its follow-up were riposted, and Lancer was forced to jump after finding himself unable to parry.

Raising her sword overhead, Rider leapt up with a roar, and swung down as she fell from the sky. Lancer again jumped back rather than take the blow head on, Rider's strike blowing the ground up yet again and sending dust and debris pluming into the air. And in the next moment Rider was charging out, sword held low.

Lancer dodged the swing, only to realize too late that it was a feint, as Rider's boot buried itself into his gut. With a shout of pain, Lancer was sent flying back, and through a wall into the apartment building beyond.

Rider charged in after her quarry, and began raining down powerful, two-handed blows from overhead and from the flanks. In the close confines of the corridors, she held the advantage, the length of Lancer's spear a disadvantage in such spaces. Even his class' vaunted agility could only do so much here.

He wasn't helpless though, combining skill with agility to turn Rider's blows as opposed to taking them head on, or simply dancing around them. Rider grit her teeth in annoyance, her delight at finally getting to fight overwhelmed by a combination of her own battle fury, anger at the wound inflicted on her by Lancer earlier, and frustration at her inability – so far – to crush Lancer.

Feinting once, she blocked Lancer's opportunistic strike with her arm against his spear's shaft, and then stepping forward slammed her body sideways into her enemy. Lancer grunted in surprise and at the impact, forced back several steps. Rider charged after him, again slamming her body sideways into his and forcing both of them through a wall and into an unfinished toilet.

Lancer disengaged sideways, the strike from Rider's sword smashing into a wall instead. Grabbing at a urinal, Lancer casually ripped it free from its mountings and hurled it at Rider. It shattered harmlessly against an arm, but it obscured her vision and threw her off balance, allowing Lancer to kick her away and back against a wall.

Roaring in triumph, Lancer stabbed his spear forward, only for Rider to dodge and dancing in, punched Lancer in the face. Lancer staggered back, and again as Rider punched him a second time.

Spitting blood, Lancer dodged sideways and forward as Rider brought her sword down clumsily, water exploding with the ground as the blow ruptured a water line. Grabbing at his spear and pulling it out of the wall, Lancer stabbed back on instinct, and was rewarded as the butt end of the shaft slammed into Rider's torso.

It didn't cause any damage, but it kept her off-balance and allowed Lancer to turn and counterattack, landing a series of kicks in quick succession that repeatedly staggered Rider before a spinning kick sent her through another wall.

Rider fell back through an empty room, shaking her head clear as Lancer jumped in. Rider stepped forward to counterattack, but her eyes widened and her battle cry cut off as Lancer used his spear to anchor him to the ground before drop kicking her through not one wall and room but two.

As she tried to push herself off the ground, she saw Lancer leap through the hole in the wall, and raise his spear to stab her as she lay on the ground. Swatting the spear aside as it descended with a backhand to the shaft, she hurled herself forward, catching Lancer by surprise and forcing him down with her on top.

Drawing a fist back with the intent of pummeling his head into a pulp, she was caught by surprise as he jerked and twisted his body under her, and in the next moment was the one on her back with Lancer on top. Before she could react, he slammed an elbow down into her solar plexus, and while her armor absorbed much of the force she still cried out as the air was expelled from her lungs and pain erupted across her torso.

Lancer leapt off as Rider wildly flailed with her fists. Rolling sideways and into a crouch, Lancer grabbed his spear and swung, sparks and broken metal flying as Rider spun away with a cry, the spear striking at her masked face as she rose from the ground.

Lancer blinked as Rider staggered away, a shiny, jagged scar left over her visor up to her left eyepiece…which had been torn away, exposing a single bright green eye and allowing a few strands of blonde hair to poke out.

 _No…you…you…_

"YOU BASTARD!" Rider roared, and surprising Lancer at the sheer fury in her words. And before he knew it he'd been punched in the face yet again and slammed through another wall.

 _…this face…this face of mine…it is not for you to see!_

Kicking her sword up from the ground, Rider charged after Lancer who was shaking his head to clear it. Roaring in rage, Rider pressed the attack, hammering him relentlessly and letting her battle fury carry her away. She didn't care how much collateral damage she was causing, missed blows tearing up the ground and breaking walls and pillars as Lancer avoided or turned her attacks.

Lancer counterattacked several times, but her fury numbed the pain, and was even fed by it. It didn't matter that her armor was rent in several places, blood spilling out to course down her armor and thence to the ground.

It just didn't matter.

The only thing that mattered was beating this…dog, down, and making him pay for exposing even the smallest fraction of her face, of _who_ she was, before she chose to do so of her own free will.

 _I…_

The spear stabbed into her side, leaving a shallow wound that trailed blood behind Lancer's spear as he pulled it out.

 _I am…_

Rider's sword swung and blew a pillar apart in an explosion of broken rock and metal, sparks flying as Lanced danced away, his spear striking harmlessly off her armor.

 _…the rightful heir…_

Cracks spread across the walls as the damage took its toll, and spread further as the building seemed to groan, more and more as Lancer and Rider tore up its insides with their battle.

 _…and they shall see it…_

The ceiling began to collapse, Rin's voice echoing in alarm in Rider's head as debris began falling around her and Lancer.

 _…know me for who I am…_

The spear stabbed, deeply for the first time in the battle, through her armor and into her chest, only just narrowly missing her vitals.

 _…and recognize my birthright…_

Lancer's eye widened as Rider threw herself forward, running herself through with his spear which punched clear through her chest and out behind her, her sword held low but firmly in her right hand.

 _…in my moment of triumph!_

Blood fountained around them, spilling from their backs as Rider buried her sword into Lancer's guts.

 _I am and will be the King_.

And as the building collapsed around them, the two of them disappearing into astral form while locked in a bloody embrace, Lancer whispered a single word, and Rider's eyes widened.

"Your eye…Saber…?"

 _What?_

* * *

"Kotomine…Church…?"

"Yes." Sakura said with a nod. "This is the place."

"A church?" Shirou asked skeptically.

Sakura smiled sympathetically. "Yes, I know it sounds strange when you hear about it for the first time without the context behind it." She said. "It'd sound even stranger, when you're told the Overseer is also a full-fledged priest of the Holy Church."

"Seriously?" Shirou asked, walking beside Sakura towards the church's doors. Behind them, Saber followed with a bright yellow raincoat hiding her armor and foreign appearance from unwanted attention. "But, doesn't the Church view magecraft as heresy? Why would they be the ones overseeing something like…this?"

"You know the story behind the Holy Grail, don't you?" Sakura asked.

"Yes." Shirou said with a nod.

"Well there's your answer." Sakura said. "As the Holy Grail is an artefact of the Christian God or rather His son, the Holy Church reserves the right to determine its provenance, its use, and well, basically everything of significance related to it. And that includes this war. And also…"

"And?" Shirou prompted.

"Well," Sakura said. "The Church already knows the Grail of this city is a fake, that is an artefact of the same name."

"What?"

Sakura nodded. "That makes the Grail worthless to the Church, as they have no use for it otherwise." She said. "However, that also makes them perfect for arbitrating the issues that develop between and from the magi who get selected as Masters, since the Church has no interest in the Grail's power themselves. In short: they're neutral."

"I see." Shirou said with a slow nod. "So that's how it is."

They walked in silence up to the doors, and then Sakura paused to turn to Shirou. "A word of warning," she said. "The priest here is an old friend of my family so I know him…better than most. And while this might seem rude, it is the truth."

Shirou just looked quizzical, and Sakura smiled. "He's a bit off in the head." She said, and Shirou made a strange sound before looking at her skeptically, and prompting her to shrug.

"Master," Saber said from behind them, and causing the two magi to look at her. "If your destination is this church, then I have no business coming inside. I will remain here outside, and stand guard."

"Alright," Shirou said with a nod, and Saber nodded back before turning to face away from the church. Shirou then turned back to Sakura, who shrugged before opening the door.

Stepping inside with Shirou behind her, they let the doors close on their own while walking down the aisle to the altar. The interior lights were off, leaving only the moonlight to cast long shadows down from the stained glass windows behind the altar and crucifix. "So…" Shirou began as they stood before the altar. "Does the priest know we're coming? Or is he asleep and we should come back tomorrow?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "He's the Overseer and the war is fought at night to keep people from noticing." She said. "Of course he's awake, and he'll be out soon enough."

"Oh I see."

The two of them waited for a few more minutes, and then with the sound of heavy but steady footsteps, a tall, dark-haired priest with dark, seemingly-empty eyes emerged from one side of the altar and approached. "Well, well," he said with a deep and powerful voice. "This is an unexpected sight. What brings you here at this hour, Sakura?"

"Kotomine Kirei," Sakura said with a gesture to the priest, and then she gestured towards Shirou. "Emiya Shirou."

Kirei blinked, and then smiled a strange smile that Shirou couldn't place but inwardly disturbed him for some reason. "Emiya…Shirou…?" the priest echoed.

"T-that's right."

Kirei then turned back to Sakura. "Emiya-sempai witnessed a fight between my Archer and the Lancer." She said, inwardly deciding to skip over most of the details. "Turns out that sempai was an amateur magus, but despite the fact that as a magus he had the right to know about the contest, Lancer still attacked him. And it was during this attack that he somehow managed to accidentally summon the Saber, despite not knowing about the contest in the first place."

"I see." Kirei said with a nod. "And you want me to explain to him what the contest is about, do you not?"

"Pretty much."

Kirei chuckled. "You could have done that yourself." He said before turning to Shirou. "But very well…you are Saber's Master, are you not?"

Again Shirou was taken aback, and after a moment rallied. "Yes…I guess…I am." He said. "But, I didn't plan to summon her it just…happened…so, that's why…"

Kire chuckled, causing Shirou to trail off. "Lister well," he said. "Becoming a Master, whether intentionally or not, is your responsibility, and the command spells you have been granted are proof of that fact. Perhaps it is an inconvenience for you, but that is immaterial. To fulfill this responsibility, you must win the Holy Grail, and make a wish."

"A wish?" Shirou echoed.

Kirei theatrically held out his hands. "The prize of the winner of the Holy Grail War is to have their wishes granted, even if such a wish is to cleanse all inner filth." He said. "Indeed, you could even start over from the very beginning if you want. Depending on how things go, inconvenience may turn to rejoicing, at becoming a Master."

"Impressive theatrics…" Sakura said with a small but mocking smile matched by the tone of her voice, lightly clapping her hands in applause. "But that's just it isn't it? Theatrics: please be objective to Emiya-sempai. This is not a laughing matter."

"Very well," Kirei said with a nod. "The Holy Grail War is a contest. It is fought between seven magi who are selected as 'Masters', and summon seven Heroic Spirits as 'Servants'. The method is crude and undesirable, but alas, it is the only means by which to select who is worthy of the Holy Grail."

Kirei paused, and smiled just a little bit wider. "It may be that you doubt the provenance of the Holy Grail in this city." He said. "If so, you are correct, for it is to be doubted. But it is immaterial, for its power and the Grail itself are real. As I said, Servants are Heroic Spirits summoned by the Masters to fight for them, and by the power of the Holy Grail incarnated as miracles infinitely close to True Magic. Compared to that, what is its authenticity worth?"

Shirou hummed unhappily for a moment. "Alright," he said. "I've personally seen what Servants can do, so if you say they're incarnated Heroic Spirits I can accept that. The same for your and Tohsaka-san's explanations about the Grail. But no matter what, there's no reason to kill each other for it. If the Grail really is such a wonderful thing, shouldn't its power be used for everybody's sake?"

"An interesting opinion, but one that cannot become reality." Kirei immediately said, briefly closing his eyes afterwards. "The Holy Grail itself selects the Masters as candidates, allows them to summon Servants, and have them fight in order to prove those truly worthy of it. Such is the Holy Grail War, fought between those chosen by the Grail, in order to earn its final blessing."

"But, even if we have to fight each other for it," Shirou said, sounding and looking angry. "There's no reason for us to go so far as to kill each other!"

"You're right, there isn't." Sakura put in. "Technically speaking, just eliminating the Servants except for your own is all you need to do to win. But…"

Sakura trailed off, glancing at Kirei who nodded. "Allow me to ask, Emiya Shirou." He said. "Can you defeat your own Servant?"

"What?"

"Servants are powerful." Kirei said. "Even for other Servants, defeating a fellow Servant is not an easy task, much less for Masters. However, Servants cannot exist without a Master. If so…"

"Then killing the Master is the easiest way to win." Shirou concluded darkly, and Kirei nodded.

"Keep in mind though," Sakura added. "Servants who lose their Master won't disappear immediately. So long as they still have enough prana, they can continue to exist to greater or lesser degree of time on their own. And, if they find a Master who's lost their Servant but still has command spells, well, they can make a new contract and rejoin the war. See where we're going with this?"

"About that," Shirou said, turning to face Sakura. "What happens when you lose or use all your command spells? Would it free your Servant and allow them to make a contract with another Master?"

"Indeed," Kirei said with a nod, and causing the two magi to turn to him. "Losing all your command spells relieves you of a Master's role. But…"

Kirei paused to smile with contempt. "If such a fate were to befall a magus in this contest," he said. "They'd be less than amateurs…mere cowards even…"

Shirou grit his teeth, somehow just knowing that the priest was referring to him potentially taking such a course of action. "…regardless," Kirei continued. "If such a thing were to happen, I would guarantee their safety. Such is my duty as the Overseer of the Fifth Holy Grail War."

"Wait, the fifth?" Shirou echoed in shock and disbelief.

"Yes, this is the Fifth Holy Grail War, as previously mentioned." Kirei said with a nod. "The last one was just ten years ago."

"Are you people insane?" Shirou demanded in anger and outrage. "Holding this kind of thing again and again?"

"Past Holy Grail Wars were particularly brutal." Kirei said, sounding and looking completely unfazed by Shirou's outburst. "Driven by greed, Masters schemed, fought, killed, and destroyed indiscriminately. That is why in the aftermath of the third war, an agreement was reached between the Mages Association and the Holy Church to allow the latter to dispatch an overseer for succeeding Holy Grail Wars. Such was my father's role, which I have inherited."

"I see." Shirou said after a moment with narrowed eyes. "In other words, the rules of magi society were repeatedly broken in the past by the Masters, and your role is to keep that from happening again, isn't it?"

"To an extent, yes." Kirei said with a nod. "However, it is not our role to determine who should win the war, regardless of their character. Ours is only to maintain the rules."

"So you're saying it doesn't matter if someone who could kill people indiscriminately or worse wins the Grail?" Shirou exploded.

"So long as the rules are maintained, it does not." Kirei said with a smile, though he narrowed his eyes to match Shirou's own afterwards. "If you disagree, then win this war. Fight, and keep those you judge unworthy from winning the Grail. Certainly, you will find more assurance in there than in trusting in others."

"That's so unreasonable!" Shirou shouted. "I have no reason to fight, much less a wish to offer to the Holy Grail! Should I have to…!

Kirei's smile twitched wider. "Then perhaps you might be interested in hearing about disasters caused by the events of previous wars?" he interrupted Shirou. "Such as…the Great Fire ten years ago?"

Shirou gasped, the fires of anger going out at Kirei's words. "Ten years ago," Kirei began. "An unworthy Master attempted to claim the Holy Grail. I know not why he did as he did, only that it resulted in catastrophe. Yes, the Great Fire of ten years ago, the cause of which is still officially unknown, was in fact the end result of the Fourth Holy Grail War."

Sakura glanced at Shirou as his bearing abruptly seemed to go off, like he was spacing out, and indeed, his eyes were distant and unseeing. "Sempai," Sakura began, stepping closer. "Are you alright? Sempai…"

Shirou didn't seem to hear, though he jolted when Sakura placed a hand on his shoulder. "Sorry," he said, before turning back to Kirei. "And, what happened after that?"

Kirei didn't reply for a moment. "The war ended as a failure." He said. "As I said, someone unworthy attempted to claim the Grail, only for the Grail to reject him."

Sakura glanced at Sakura who shrugged. Shirou briefly lowered his face in thought for several moments, and then he blinked and stared at Kirei in realization. "Could it be," he began. "You were a Master in that war?"

"I was, up to a point." Kirei answered. "But I lost my Servant, and had to seek asylum under my father, who was the overseer at the time."

Kirei briefly closed his eyes, and turned to leave. "That is all I have to say." He said. "Know however, that only a Master with a Servant may gain the Holy Grail. When only one Servant is left, then their Master will be blessed by the Holy Grail. But before you depart, let me ask you a single thing, Emiya Shirou!"

Shirou narrowed his eyes, and drew himself up as though answering a challenge. "Do you have what it takes to fight in this Holy Grail War?" Kirei asked.

Shirou briefly lowered his face, but then just as quickly raised it to meet Kirei's gaze. "I'll fight." He said in a quiet but determined voice. "I won't let this war end like the last one did."

Kirei didn't respond, and after a few moments, Sakura placed a hand on Shirou's shoulder. He glanced at her, and after a nod, nodded back and turned to follow Sakura out.

"Rejoice, boy." Kirei suddenly said from behind them, as they approached the doors. "It may be that your wish will be fulfilled. Know however, that if evil does not exist, then neither can justice. Put another way, the noblest wish and the vilest desire have the same origin. No, you need not be ashamed to admit this truth. It comes with being Human, after all."

* * *

"Satisfied?"

Rin turned to look at the voice's direction, and moments later a stooped and wizened old man with greying, wrinkled skin and pitch-black, opaque-looking eyes dressed in a kimono seemed to just melt out of the shadows. He stared expectantly at Rin, who briefly closed her eyes.

"For now, yes." She said. "Lancer survived, but shouldn't be able to function normally for at least a few more days, more if he wants or needs to go all out. Not after taking Rider's sword through his guts."

"Hmm," Zouken Matou hummed. "Certainly, that is true. And what of Rider?"

Rin didn't answer at once. "As long as she doesn't have to go all out," she finally said. "She should be ready for combat again in a few days. She took Lancer's spear through the chest after all, though it missed her vitals."

"I see." Zouken said with a nod, already turning to leave. "Well at the very least Kotomine's ability to take action is suspended for a time, and of course, his actions to scout out other Masters and Servants are ended."

"Quite,"

Zouken walked away, but stopped after a few steps, and looked over a shoulder at Rin. " _Пробудить._ " He said, and Rin collapsed to her knees with a gasp, wide-eyed. Sharp, burning pain, like fangs biting into flesh or hot metal touching a nerve erupted from her womb and up her spine, and then across her entire body.

Flesh bulged and began to spasm, unnoticeable for the most part beneath her clothes, though in places where skin was exposed such as on her neck and arms, the silhouettes as though of long, wormlike _things_ could be seen squirming beneath her skin. Rin cried out, doubling over and would have fallen if not for a shaky hand that caught her fall.

The other hand went to her belly, which bulged as though she was pregnant, the flesh squirming unnaturally as something in her womb thrashed around. "Know your place, little granddaughter." Zouken said with a note of warning. "You are free to play around, and while I understand your interest in the Emiya boy and would seek to avenge Kotomine's…violation, of your territory or rather your property, remember, you have responsibilities to us."

"Lancer…is…defeated!" Rin gasped out.

"Temporarily, yes," Zouken agreed. "But the victory is pyrrhic, as Rider is also equally-incapacitated. If an enemy were to attack us now we are vulnerable."

Rin didn't answer, instead gasping wetly and heavily on the foyer's floor. "You were careless." Zouken said. "You are smarter than that little granddaughter. Instead you allowed your feelings for the Emiya brat to get in your way, and so moved to attack without preparation beforehand. It wouldn't have taken much for a pyrrhic victory to have become crushing defeat, and where would that leave us? Where would that leave you? You, who have the responsibility of winning this war for us, and securing our family's legacy?"

Again, Rin didn't answer, and Zouken narrowed his eyes. " _возбуждать._ " He said, and Rin collapsed, twitching and gasping on the floor. "Make sure it doesn't happen again, and do it right next time, understand?"

Rin didn't answer, or rather was unable to answer as her body went out of control. Zouken scoffed at the sight and resumed walking away. "I expect an answer once you're rested, little granddaughter." He said, and after several more steps _walked into_ a shadow and vanished.

Alone now in the foyer, Rin continued to spasm helplessly on the ground for a few moments, and then…just stopped. She lay silent and unmoving, breathing heavily but normally for several moments, catching her breath, and then slowly got up on all fours. She coughed, blood splattering on the floor before more dripped down from the ground.

" _Playing along…_ " she thought to herself as she forced herself to stand, blood running from the corners of her bloodshot eyes down her face to drip down to the floor or onto her clothes. " _…is such a pain…no matter how necessary it is…_ "

The worms squirmed hungrily inside her, but a thought had them calm down. " _Shinji's in his room._ " Rin thought as she briefly 'touched' the Matou bounded fields and found her brother's presence in his room. " _Good, I'm…hungry. But first…_ "

Rin paused, glancing down at herself, her clothes and skin covered in dust which sank into her clothes thanks to her sweat and of course there was the blood too. " _It might be polite to wash up first though._ " She thought before smiling hungrily. " _And delaying things for a bit will only make it sweeter when the time comes._ "

Flicking a few more drops of her blood to the floor, Rin turned and began to climb the stairs. And after the flicked drops touched the blood from earlier, the liquid turned black, beginning to rot and boil away leaving nothing but dry, lifeless dust behind.

* * *

"Well, this is goodbye for tonight, I think."

Shirou nodded. The three of them – Shirou, Sakura, and Saber – were standing at a crossroads. "You live across town, don't you?" Shirou asked.

"Yes, I do." Sakura answered with a nod. "Well, in any case I'm sure you can get home on your own from here, and you do have Saber with you, so no worries."

"What about you though?" Shirou asked. "Will you be able to make it home safely? I mean, your Servant got hurt earlier, didn't he? If you want, we could walk you home."

Sakura smiled and waved him off. "No, it's alright." She said. "I'll be fine on my own. Thanks for worrying though."

"I see."

Shirou and Sakura fell silent, but after a few moments Sakura sighed and tilted her head. "You're nice, sempai." She said. "Nice and kind…it's a shame that traits like those are so rare in this world."

Shirou laughed. "I'm not really like that exceptional…am I?" he asked with mild embarrassment.

"Yes, you are." Sakura said.

 _And that's what I like about you, sempai._

"Thanks for the compliment then."

Sakura nodded and began to turn away. "Well then," she said. "Goodbye and good night."

Shirou nodded. "Alright," he said. "Goodbye and…"

"Master!"

Even as Saber gave the warning, the two magi felt the new arrival and turned towards it. There were two of them, a young girl of around ten, dressed in rich and expensive furs with a tall _ushanka_ on her head. And standing behind her and to the side, was a swarthy giant dressed only in a skirt-like garment and carrying a massive slab of stone like a makeshift axe, his breath steaming in the air.

Heterochromatic eyes – one gold the other red – stared down at them, and the little girl giggled before giving a proper curtsy. "Good evening, onii-chan." She said. "And to you as well, Tohsaka-san. I am Illyasviel von Einzbern."

"Oh no!" Sakura said with evident alarm. "Einzbern!"

Illyasviel giggled again. "So you recognize the name." she said. "Good, you should at least know the name of the person who's going to kill you."

"Kill us?" Shirou echoed. "Hey, wait…"

"Go, Berserker!" Illyasviel shrieked, and with a thunderous roar Berserker charged forward, Saber doing likewise while throwing off her raincoat.

The battle was on.

* * *

A/N

Sigh…once again, stations of the canon, though we at least have the conclusion of Rider vs. Lancer, and part of the aftermath.

Zouken makes his appearance, and is, well, himself. Rider doesn't show in the POV true, but we'll get to her eventually, don't worry.

Kirei is still Kirei, moving on, moving on, same for Illya.


	8. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Transposition

Chapter 7

Berserker's roar thundered through the air, followed by the clattering sound of steel striking a hard surface. Sparks flew from Berserker's axe as it clashed against Saber's invisible sword, and then after a moment disengaged, the towering Servant raising it back before bringing it down for another strike.

Saber again parried, turning the crude and jagged weapon aside, and then jumped back to avoid the backswing. Berserker pressed the initiative, lumbering forward with wide, powerful sweeps that visibly displaced the air behind and around them. Saber didn't bother to block however, preferring to dance around and back away from the blows.

And then, slipping under one of the swings charged forward, and swinging struck at Berserker's torso. No good: sparks flew as the invisible sword skidded harmlessly against the giant's skin, Berserker jumping back to open up the space before bringing down his sword with a roar.

It struck the ground, punching deep into the concrete and ripping a crack through the road ahead towards Saber. Violently-displaced earth erupted upwards from the crack, Saber waiting until the last moment to jump up and away, avoiding taking any hits from the sharp and powerful, blade-like displaced air running above the crack.

Berserker had seemingly predicted her actions however, Saber narrowly missing one of his swings as she jumped atop an electric post. From there she leaped up the road, from one post to another. As she did so, she glanced to the side, and noted a growling Berserker catching up, before he swung at her with a roar.

It missed, severed electrical cables sparking harmlessly in the air or against Berserker's skin, as Saber jumped away in time, across the street to atop another electric post and then down to a crouch in front of Illyasviel. As Saber rose, she locked eyes with the little girl who narrowed her eyes and glared at the Servant, as though daring Saber to strike her down.

Whether she would have or not was academic however, as with a roar Berserker charged in swinging. While she managed to dodge the first swing, the follow up had to be blocked, sending her flying back down the street. Flipping back a couple of times with a hand, she finally landed in a crouch, and then clutched at the upper part of her chest.

Shirou's eyes widened at the sight. "That's…!" he said, remembering Lancer's spear earlier stabbing through that exact spot. And he also remembered what Saber had said to him about it only looking healed.

He made to run forward, only to be held in place by a hand on his shoulder. "What do you think you're doing?" Sakura asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Shirou shot back, and shaking himself free. "Saber needs help! So I'm going to help!"

"Are you serious?" Sakura asked, aghast. "You can't just jump into the middle of a battle between Servants! That's suicide!"

"We can't just leave her on her own!" Shirou shouted. "She's still hurt from her fight with Lancer earlier! And now she's up against that…Berserker!"

Sakura didn't reply at once, turning instead to look at the battlefield. She gritted her teeth at the sight of Saber trying to recover while Berserker glowered protectively on the other side of the battlefield, standing protectively in front of his Master. " _Damn it,_ " she thought. " _Just how much damage did Saber take from her match with Lancer, that even though it's not showing on the surface, she's struggling against Berserker? I mean…well, yes, it's **Berserker** , which tend to have the highest raw strength among Servants, but still…_"

Sakura closed her eyes. " _Anything you can do, Archer?_ " she asked.

" _I wish I could,_ " the reply came. " _But Saber's hurt me pretty bad. In this fight, I'd be more hindrance than help._ "

" _Damn it…depending on how much of a handicap Saber's under, at this rate…!_ "

Sakura's thoughts were cut off as Illyasviel giggled, stepping out from behind Berserker. "It's pointless, Tohsaka-san." She said. "No matter what you or onii-chan think or do, it won't matter."

"What?" Shirou asked while Sakura narrowed her eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded, and Illyasviel giggled.

"Well you see," she began. "Saber's just no match for my Berserker. After all, he's the greatest hero of Greece, Heracles. You've heard of him, haven't you?"

"Heracles?" Sakura echoed in horror, Shirou likewise gasping in horrified recognition.

Illyasviel giggled again. "So you have heard of him!" she said. "If so, then you know how this is going to end. Now, finish it, Berserker!"

"Saber!" Shirou shouted.

"Master, stay back!" Saber shouted as she stood, and holding her sword with both hands charged to meet Berserker.

Thunder boomed as Saber and Berserker's weapons met with sufficient force to violently displace the surrounding air, and then disengaging began exchanging blows one after another. But while Saber was initially able to hold her ground, Berserker was quickly able to take the initiative, and force Saber to struggle purely on defense.

"Tohsaka!" Shirou demanded. "We have to do something!"

"Easier said than done!" Sakura snarled. "None of the spells I can use at this distance will work…assuming _any_ of them could work, that is!"

"But even so…!"

"I know!" Sakura said, gritting her teeth. "Well, there is something I can do, but even just thinking about it leaves a poor taste in the mouth."

"What's that?"

"That's…"

A short shout of pain and a triumphant roar cut through the air, and Shirou turned back to the battlefield, his eyes going wide at the sight that met him. "Saber!" he shouted, seeing his Servant fly through the air, blood splattering behind her she landed near-helplessly on the ground nearby.

Illyasviel giggled at the sight, and Berserker made to follow up. And he would have, had Sakura not raised her right hand, crest flashing over the arm, and folding all but her index finger back fired a high-speed stream of dark-colored projectiles at Berserker's Master.

Illyasviel's laughter was abruptly cut off in surprise, and Berserker quickly put himself between her and Sakura, thus buying Saber some time. The dark-colored projectiles splattered harmlessly against his torso, and after a few moments Sakura ceased fire and dropping her hand, glared impotently at Berserker.

"Saber!" Shirou shouted, taking a step forward, only for Saber to stop him with a raised hand, before forcing herself up to her feet, using her sword as a cane to help her stand. It was a sight Shirou would never forget, and would have reflected on some more, seeing her badly wounded and bleeding heavily, but Illyasviel spoke again, stepping out from behind Berserker. Only this time, there was grudging respect behind her voice.

"It seems I underestimated you, _Sakura_." Illyasviel said, sounding less like a child and more like someone twice as old as she appeared. "I didn't think you'd actually have what it takes to shoot a child."

"Child, eh?" Sakura shot back. "That may be so, but you're also a Master! And someone set on killing us! Like hell I'm letting you take out the only thing standing between me and sempai and that monstrous Berserker of yours!"

"Well said," Illyasviel said with a vicious smile. "Though, you've only managed to buy yourself several moments at best. If only Saber hadn't cut down that Archer of yours…isn't it sad, Sakura?"

"How the hell…?"

Illyasviel scoffed, and then turned to Berserker. "Finish it, Berserker!" she ordered. "Kill Saber before she finishes regenerating!"

With a loud roar, Berserker charged forward, quickly closing the distance in but a few moments, axe rising to crush Saber before she could recover. "Damn you!" Sakura snarled, tensing as though to jump forward, gems glowing between her fingers, while Illyasviel hungrily looked on with murderous anticipation.

Desperation and anticipation alike would turn to shock as blood fountained in the night, and a boy's scream of agony pierced the air.

Somehow, Shirou had moved with superhuman speed, reaching Saber moments before Berserker could, and shoving her aside, was sent flying, nearly ripped in two by Berserker's axe. "SEMPAI!" Sakura screamed, rushing to the bloody boy and dropping down beside him. "No, no, no! You can't die like this, not like this! Damn it!"

Saber stared in shock at her Master's body, and then turned to glare at Illyasviel.

"Why?" the little girl asked softly. "Why would he…?"

Sakura glared up at the sound of her voice, and getting to her feet stood protectively over Shirou's body, the same gems from before glowing between her fingers. Illyasviel blinked, and then with an expression of annoyance on her face turned and began to walk away. "Enough, I'm bored!" she said. "Berserker, let's go home!"

Berserker snarled his acknowledgement before fading into astral form, and then pausing, Illyasviel turned her head to glance at Sakura. She made to speak, but narrowing her eyes, seemingly thought better of it and resuming her walk vanished into the night.

Sakura made a frustrated sound, and then glanced down at Shirou's bloody body.

"Sempai…"

* * *

Rin opened her eyes and swore softly.

"What's wrong?" Shinji asked beside her.

"Tohsaka…and Emiya-kun…" Rin said, covering her eyes with an arm. "They faced off against Einzbern and Berserker."

There were shuffling sounds from under the sheets as Shinji rolled onto a prone position, and propping himself up on his arms, faced Rin. "From your reaction," he began. "It sounds like the battle could have gone better."

Rin snorted, and lifting her arm regarded Shinji with her violet eyes. "That's an understatement." She finally said. "Emiya-kun's badly hurt: that stupid, kindhearted idiot actually took Berserker's blow to save his Servant. As a result, Berserker's axe cut into his side and from the amount of blood, it's deep."

Rin closed her eyes, and began swearing again. Shinji stayed silent, not speaking until Rin had finished swearing, and even then he waited for several moments longer before speaking up. "Will he be alright?" he finally asked.

Rin opened her eyes. "If he will," she said. "It'll be because Tohsaka would help him out, and save his life…for the second time. Damn it…"

Shinji again fell silent, as Rin covered her eyes with an arm. "Can she do it?" he eventually asked.

Rin didn't answer at once. "Yes," she eventually answered. "She can do it."

Shinji lazily drew a circle on the bed with a finger for a few moments, and then sighed. "So," he began. "What do we – you – plan to do about this?"

"I don't know." Rin said, still keeping her eyes covered. "Rider's still recovering, but it's slower than expected. It seems Lancer's spear's curse is interfering with recovery. If worse comes to worst, then I might have to spend a command spell to fully heal her. But even then…"

Rin trailed off with a sigh, and uncovering her eyes shook her head. "I don't know if she can beat Berserker as a Rider." She said. "Normally at least: with her Noble Phantasm, she probably can."

Shinji said nothing, but after a moment nodded. Rin glanced at him with narrowed eyes, and after a long moment lunged forward with a hungry snarl.

Pushing him down on his side of the bed, she pressed her lips against his, their tongues struggling against each other, Shinji wrapping his arms around his sister while her free hand worked him back up. Pulling herself free, Rin grinned down at him once she felt him ready to go once again.

"Get back to work, brother." She hissed, before impaling herself with a satisfied yet hungry gasp.

Shinji groaned, and did as asked.

* * *

 _"When I was young, I dreamed of becoming a Hero of Justice."_

 _Dressed in yukata and holding watermelon slices, father and son sat on the veranda, looking out over the yard in the midsummer night, the stars sparkling in a clear sky. The boy glanced at his father in surprise at what the older man had said, and was struck by the sad smile and expression on his face._

 _"You sound like you've given up." He finally said._

 _The man didn't answer for a while. And then lowering his face from the stars, the man gave his answer. "Saving someone means not saving someone else." He said, before glancing at the boy, still with that sad smile on his face._

 _The boy met his father's gaze for a few moments, and then smiling, turned away to look back out at the stars. "Is that so?" he asked. "But, you're an adult, and adults usually give up on their dreams. That's why, for your sake, I'll make your dream come true, and become a Hero of Justice in your place."_

 _The man smiled ever so wider, and also looked back out at the stars. And then lowering his face, the man slowly closed his eyes. "I see." He said softly. "I'm glad to hear that."_

 _He didn't say anything more, and after a few moments, the boy glanced curiously at his father. He stared at the sad yet peaceful smile on his father's face, and at the way he just sat there. And then after a few moments, the boy found himself blinking back his tears._

 _He knew that his father would never open his eyes again._

Shirou gasped awake, morning light filtering through the paper and wood of his room. For a couple of moments, he just lay there in his futon, and then fidgeting at the stiffness of his body forced himself to sit up.

Rubbing at his side to chase the stiffness away, he glanced down curiously at the strange texture. Pulling his shirt up, he blinked at the bandages wrapped tightly around him. About the same time, memories…from the previous night, began filtering through.

The fight at school between Lancer and…Archer, wasn't it…

…getting stabbed by Lancer after being noticed…

…coming home after being healed by a helpful stranger…

…fighting Lancer's attempts to finish the job off…

…summoning and meeting Saber…

…Saber's fight with Lancer, seeing her get stabbed, and meeting Sakura Tohsaka afterward…

…going to Kotomine Church and learning about the Holy Grail War…

…and then…the fight…the fight between Berserker and Saber…

Shirou winced at the memory, clutching at his side as he remembered the utter agony of nearly getting ripped in half before being sent flying. " _But,_ " he thought at the same time. " _Did I…was Saber…is she safe? What about Tohsaka? And…who brought me home, and patched me up? Was it them? Or…?_ "

Shaking his head to clear it, Shirou got up and after stretching his sore and stiff muscles, went off to go looking for Saber. If he was alive here and now, she had to be too, right? Wouldn't that Einzbern girl and her Berserker have killed them otherwise? Given the way the battle went, Shirou strongly suspected that the little girl was not the merciful type. If it weren't for the fact that she was a Master and thus a magus herself, he'd have found it disturbing.

But, with magi being what they were…

…grim resignation was all he could feel about the matter.

* * *

Shirou didn't go looking for Saber at once, despite his thoughts after waking up. He went to freshen up first, and then scoured the house. The guest rooms were empty. There was no one in the kitchens, much less the adjoining dining room/living room. His own workshop was empty.

The same went for every other room in the house, except for the one he checked last. Shirou blinked after opening the door, finding himself staring, mesmerized even, by the sight that met him.

Sakura went through her katas, breathing normally if heavily, smoothly moving from one stance to another while punching and jabbing her elbows and knees at the air. They were abrupt, powerful blows, which Shirou quickly concluded could at least stagger or daze, or at worst, cause critical damage. Some parts of the form he saw could pry guards open, followed up by powerful blows that would hammer at an enemy's torso.

And yet for all the brutality of the form, Shirou could not describe it as anything less than an art. A martial art true, but it was art nevertheless. It wasn't about winning, or breaking or killing an enemy, at least not completely.

Being able to perform the form, to conserve effort and achieve maximum effect at minimum waste, to do it _right_ as opposed to just doing it…

Shirou smiled at the sight, recalling how he himself had mastered archery to the best of his ability, in order to help him focus his magecraft. Somehow, he just knew that this was the same: Sakura, or maybe even her family, used martial arts to help them focus or advance their magecraft.

Deciding against disturbing her, Shirou quietly closed the door, and standing to one side, waited for Sakura to finish. If she noticed him, she didn't let it show, instead focusing on her kata practice.

Like at the track yesterday afternoon, Shirou found himself drawn to her face. She wasn't smiling right now, but this close…the expression on her face…

…it was like her smile while she running on the track yesterday, as though nothing else mattered except the here and now. The future was a problem for the future, and the past…

…well, Shirou didn't know. But, if he was right, and Sakura really did live for the present, then…

 _I don't really know, what to think about that._

 _But, it isn't bad. At least, I don't think it is._

 _There's something to just being able to be at your own pace that can't be wrong. Not by itself._

 _And if this is what Tohsaka is like when she's just herself, then it's not bad._

Smiling some more to himself, Shirou closed his eyes briefly, and opened them in time to see Sakura finish her katas, stepping back into a solid stance that gave the impression of unyielding immovability and of a predator ready to pounce. Shirou blinked, and then sensing it was over, applauded softly. "That was great." He said.

Sakura blinked, and glancing in his direction stepped out of her stance with a small laugh and an embarrassed expression on her face. "Not really," she said, walking closer. "I'm good, but not that good."

"No," Shirou said. "I can't do anything like that, but I have watched Kung Fu movies before, and I can tell, you're good."

"Kung Fu movies aren't really the best examples to have," Sakura said, coming to a halt a couple of steps from Shirou. "But thanks."

"You're welcome." Shirou said with a nod. Silence fell between the two of them, neither able to find out what to say, though once again Shirou found himself regarding the younger girl in front of him.

Like yesterday, even covered in sweat did nothing to take away from Sakura's appearance, in fact this close Shirou would have to say it just seemed to fit, considering how athletic her build and how outgoing her character was. And he could tell the former, even if he hadn't known she was with the Track and Field Team, just from her toned and fit form.

 _Nothing wrong with an athlete being sweaty…it's just right._

Sakura leaned forward, unintentionally giving Shirou a close look into her cleavage. "Sempai," she said. "Are you alright? You've been looking rather…strangely, at me, for the past few moments."

Shirou blinked, and with a small laugh held out his hands. "No, it's nothing." He said, glancing to the side and blinking again as he caught side of Saber, sitting demurely in a corner with her eyes closed as she sat in the Sun coming in from the windows. Surprisingly, she wasn't wearing the armored dress from last night, but a modest, long-sleeved and collared blouse of white with a blue ribbon tied around her neck, over a modest, knee-length skirt of blue and black knee socks.

"Hmm?" Sakura said, following Shirou's line of sight. "Ah yes, Saber. Sorry if I went too far, but I thought that maybe she'd want or need something more comfortable to wear. So after I brought you back home, I ran off to my place and gave her some of my clothes."

"Oh I see." Shirou said, turning back to Sakura. "No, it's alright, and thanks. It's not like there are women's clothes in this house, I live alone, after all."

Sakura laughed shortly, Shirou joining in. "Guess not," Sakura said.

"Anyway," Shirou continued. "You said you brought me home last night, so I guess you also patched me up. If so, then thanks."

Sakura blinked, and then smiling nodded. And then she tapped Shirou on the forehead, causing him to stagger back a step. "You nearly got yourself killed saving Saber." Sakura admonished with a chiding smile and tone. "To be honest I don't really know what to think about such insane, suicidal, but chivalrous bravery, but…I guess that's just like you."

Shirou rubbed at his forehead with a slight pout, and then smiling weakly, rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry," he said. "Well not really, I just…I don't know. But when I saw her covered in blood like that, and Berserker going for the kill, I just…"

Shirou trailed off, again glancing at Saber, who still sat silent and with her eyes closed. Sakura followed Shirou's line of sight again, and then with a sigh gave him a friendly pat on an arm. "Don't apologize," she said. "Just because it's stupid and suicidal, it doesn't mean it was wrong. I could even say it's admirable, that you had the courage and the heart to pull it off."

There was something in her tone of voice that Shirou couldn't place, and he turned to look at her, his eyes widening slightly at the wistful, bitter expression on her face. "I can't say the same for myself, you see." Sakura finished softly, almost as though she was talking to herself.

Shirou blinked, not knowing what to say, and then briefly closing her eyes Sakura sighed, the bitter and wistful expression vanishing as though it was never there in the first place. Opening her eyes, she glanced back at Shirou. "You're welcome," she finally said, and Shirou returned her smile. "Though, we'll have to talk about that…maybe…but later."

"About what?" Shirou asked, confused. Sakura just shrugged.

"More importantly," she began. "What do you plan to do from here on out? Just like you said with Kirei last night, are you really going to fight in this war to keep someone who can't be trusted with it from gaining the Grail?"

"I am." Shirou said with a nod and absolute conviction.

Sakura stared into Shirou's eyes for a long moment, Shirou meeting her gaze without flinching, and then she sighed, and smiled and nodded at Shirou.

"Well," Sakura said. "It's a good enough reason to fight, I can't deny that. And it's certainly better than fighting for wishes, which are selfish things in themselves."

Shirou blinked and nodded. "That they are." He said. For a moment, he wondered whether or not he could ask about her own wish, but decided against it. They weren't so close that he could ask what was clearly such a private question.

"Well then," Sakura said, stepping forward to open the dojo door. "I guess I'll be going."

"Go?" Shirou echoed, following Sakura out. "Go where?"

"Home, of course." Sakura said. "I have to get ready for school, and so do you, I'm sure."

Shirou briefly looked away in thought, and then shrugged. "Yeah, we do." He said, and Sakura shrugged.

"Well then, I'll be going on ahead."

"Yeah, but wait for a bit, I'll show you out myself." Shirou said, glancing back into the dojo. He glanced at Saber in the distance, and after a moment she opened her eyes and regarded Shirou across the room. After another moment, and she nodded, in what Shirou understood as 'we'll talk later'. Shirou nodded back, and as Saber settled back down and closed her eyes, Shirou walked through and closed the dojo doors before quickly going through the house to the front, where Sakura had just finished putting her shoes back on.

"Here you go." Shirou said, taking her sports jacket off a nearby stand and helping her put it on.

"Thanks." Sakura said with a nod and a smile, and Shirou returned them as well.

Opening the door, Sakura stepped through, and then a couple of steps out turned to look at Shirou again. "What's wrong?" Shirou asked. "Did you forget something?"

Sakura didn't answer at once, though after a few moments she briefly closed her eyes and shook her head. "No," she said. "It's just that…I don't want to be your enemy…but, I have to think about it first."

Shirou looked confused at first, and then smiled and nodded. "Well, take your time." He said. "If it helps, I don't want to be your enemy either."

The two of them stared at each other for another moment, and then Sakura nodded. "Well then," she said. "See you at school, sempai."

"Yeah, see you at school."

* * *

Rin was walking down a road, humming cheerfully to herself, walking at a relaxed pace despite the two heavy bags of fresh groceries she carried in both her hands. Last night had been a mixed bag, but at the very least she felt refreshed and heading over to Shirou's place always made her feel good.

Though, just in case, she'd told Rider to stay at a safe distance, and to stay in astral form. No need to provoke Shirou's Servant, not when she could still think up a plan to get him on her side, despite Sakura's head start.

Yes, maybe things weren't as…

Sakura jogged past, looking quite cheerful herself despite being all sweaty from her exercise. And more than that…she seemed…really…happy…

…almost like…

 _Could it be? Did they…?_

Sakura noticed her from the corner of her eyes, and about facing, jogged backward to a halt. "Good morning, Matou-sempai." Sakura politely greeted her.

"Good morning, Tohsaka-san." Rin said with a small smile. "Might I ask what you're doing here so early?"

"Jogging, as you can see." Sakura said, declining to return the question, given how obvious what Rin was doing. It was an open secret that she was Shirou's part-time housekeeper, a tacit and informal arrangement the school accepted so long as Taiga Fujimura held final responsibility as Shirou's guardian.

And with the groceries Rin was carrying…

Rin nodded, and Sakura nodded back, the latter turning to resume her jog away. Behind her, Rin narrowed her eyes, and after a moment, resumed walking to Shirou's house, her good mood ruined.

" _Damn her_ ," Rin thought darkly. " _Sinking her talons so quickly and so deep. But…_ "

The thought trailed off, vanishing along with the jealous anger and resentment, leaving behind only sadness, and bitter resignation.

" _Isn't it better this way?_ " Rin thought to herself. " _What chance do I have…and he certainly deserves someone as pure and beautiful as her…not someone like me…not me…never me…not this defiled and filthy woman. It's enough, that I can be friends with him, can dream of him, and be happy for him. That's all I can do._ "

Rin sighed, and shook her head. She didn't cry though. She never could. Not anymore.

She'd run out of tears long ago.

* * *

A/N

Yes! Finally, the last station of the canon is past! From here on out, it's open water!

Shirou being unfazed by Sakura opening fire on Illya: first of all, it didn't hit, so it doesn't really matter. Second…if she was just an ordinary little girl, he'd have raised a fuss. Thing is…she's a Master and a magus, and for all his faults, Shirou doesn't extend them to magi willing and capable of killing each other if necessary (such as say, a psychotic little girl telling her Servant to kill his Servant and likely them too afterwards). Canonically Shirou did threaten to kill (and would likely have killed) Shinji when he initially refused to shut down the Blood Fort.


	9. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Transposition

Chapter 8

"Has Miss Tohsaka left already?"

Shirou blinked at the soft yet firm question his Servant asked as he returned to the dojo after seeing Sakura out. "Hmm," he hummed before nodded. "Yeah, she's gone home."

"I see." Saber said, before rising to her feet and walking to meet Shirou across the dojo. "If I may, Master, you should not push yourself so much, considering your injuries from the previous night."

Shirou blinked in surprise at her concern, and then rubbing at his side smiled and shrugged. "Well, I'm still a bit sore," he admitted. "Actually more stiff than sore, but it's already passing. Tohsaka-san's healing magecraft really is something, I guess, and the rest is up to me."

"I see." Saber said with a nod before narrowing her eyes. "If so, then pardon the discourtesy but I must speak on your actions during the previous night, Master."

Shirou blinked at her sharp tone and expression, and after a moment Saber continued. "I must ask that you not repeat your actions from the previous night here on out." She said sternly. "Battle is my responsibility, not yours. Whether it is to ensure the granting of our desires, or to preserve your life, I would prefer if you entrust it to me, and to focus on what else you can do instead. There is nothing to be gained from actions such as those during the previous night."

Shirou glared at that. "Hey now," he said. "I understand what you're saying, but don't tell me you actually think helping people is wrong."

Saber looked taken aback by that, and with a cough Shirou pulled himself together. "Anyway," he said. "Let's move on to something else. As I understand it, the Holy Grail War is fought between seven Servants and Masters, all so the winner can wish make a wish for the Holy Grail to grant. Thing is…Father Kotomine mentioned 'winner'. As in singular…"

"The Overseer is technically correct then." Saber said with a nod. "But I see what you mean, and it seems he was rather vague in his wording, or perhaps he expected the context to be understood in the sense that the war is fought between seven pairs of Masters and Servants."

Shirou stood silent for a moment, and briefly lowered his face. "Then," he said. "You're also fighting in this so you can have your wish granted by the Holy Grail."

"That is so." Saber said with a nod. "As I said just moments ago, it is my role to ensure our desires are granted, by fighting on the battlefield as your Servant."

Again, Shirou paused in thought for a moment, and then he sighed. "Alright," he said. "I have to you warn you though, if you're going to fight this war as my Servant then your, well our, chances of winning are rather low."

"Are you saying that you lack the will to fight?"

"Of course not," Shirou said, walking past Saber a few steps before turning to face, Saber doing likewise. "It's just that…well, I…"

Shirou sighed and shook his head. " _I need to talk with Tohsaka again about this._ " He thought. " _I'm missing out on a lot of details about how this 'war' works, something that priest really should have told me about. Or Tohsaka herself for that matter…then again, I probably shouldn't judge. Between everything's that happened, it must have slipped her mind, and she does have to go home and get ready for school, so there's not much time to talk this morning._ "

Shirou sighed again. "It's just that," he began. "Well, I didn't really plan to join or even know about this whole business so, well, I wasn't really expecting much less prepared for it, if you get what I mean."

Saber nodded. "I understand." She said. "If so however, then I must simply put additional effort on my part to make up for your deficiencies."

Shirou didn't answer for a few moments, and then he sighed. "I see." He said. "I should have expected that. And I guess it's to be expected, but even so…"

Saber blinked in surprise as Shirou gave a bow of apology. "Sorry," he said. "Even though it wasn't deliberate on my part, I've still placed a burden on you by accidentally summoning you, and in a way disappointed your expectations."

"No, it's alright." Saber said, taken aback. "As it was an accident, I cannot truly put blame on you, even more so given the events surrounding my summoning. Instead, we should focus our efforts on making the best of this outcome, and indeed, it can be said I've put equal burden on you, by involving you in this Holy Grail War."

Shirou blinked at Saber's words, and then rising smiled while rubbing the back of his head. "Good point, I guess." He said. "Though, it's more Lancer's fault than either of ours."

Saber blinked, and then smiled and nodded herself. "Indeed it is." She said.

Shirou made an agreeing sound, and then drawing himself up nodded to himself. "Alright," he said. "I'm still not sure how, but if you're going to put additional effort on your end, then I guess I'll have to do the same on mine, don't I?"

 _I'm still not sure if I can talk some more with Tohsaka about this, or if she can much less would help, but it's worth a shot._

 _After all, she did say she didn't want to be my enemy, even if she does have to think about it some more first._

 _Well, no point recklessly rushing into things…though I'm probably not the best person to say that._

Shirou laughed to himself softly to Saber's surprise, and then patted his side, feeling bandages underneath. " _But,_ " he thought. " _She doesn't seem like a bad person in any way, so…yeah, I can trust her._ "

* * *

" _You can't be serious._ "

"Oh really?" Sakura said with a clear lack of concern, sitting in front of her drawer running a comb through her hair. "And why not?"

" _The kid's going to be a burden, as I've said before._ " Archer replied. " _How he managed to even summon Saber in the first place…_ "

Sakura rolled her eyes as Archer's thoughts trailed off. "Accidents happen, even among magi." She said. "It's a fact, sometimes an even more dangerous one than those which tend to happen to ordinary people."

" _Even so…_ "

"Besides," Sakura interrupted, placing her comb down on her dresser before walking over to her bed, where she took her uniform vest and put it on. "He's got a functioning Servant, and I don't. No offense Archer, but even if you can take physical form without immediately collapsing, you're still a good way away from complete recovery, and I'm down to my last command spell so I can't just order you to heal."

" _And whose fault is that?_ "

"I have no regrets."

" _I thought as much._ " Archer said with a sigh, and Sakura laughed, patting down her uniform. Walking back to her dresser, she combed her hair again before putting on a small pair of gold and diamond earrings, and tied a bright red ribbon at her brow. " _You do realize that Saber's hurt too, right?_ "

"Not nearly as bad as you." Sakura countered. "So long as we don't fight Berserker again, Saber should be fine. As for sempai's faults…well, I've got something in mind for that."

" _I get the feeling I'm not going to like it._ "

"Maybe." Sakura said with a cheeky grin, which grew as she struck a pose in front of her mirror. "Nice…"

" _You'd look even nicer with a cape._ "

"Hmm…"

" _You aren't actually considering it…are you?_ "

Sakura's response was to lightly touch her mirror, which flickered before showing her in a military uniform of a Prussian cut, black with elaborate silver embroidery and gold epaulettes with a billowing white cape. Sakura promptly doubled over laughing at the sight, the illusion vanishing as Archer intangibly palmed his face.

" _No comment._ "

"It was your idea."

"… _more importantly, what will be the terms of your alliance with the kid? Given the way the war works, a blank check isn't a good idea no matter how you look at it._ "

"True," Sakura admitted, taking her schoolbag before walking out of her room and closing the door behind her. "Well, just leave that to me."

There was silence in the telepathic link, and then Archer sighed. " _I knew you were going to say that._ " He said.

"Just trust me."

" _It's not like I have much of a choice now, do I?_ "

"…neither do I, even if I don't particularly mind this choice."

"… _fair enough._ "

* * *

" _Will she be alright?_ " Shirou thought to himself as he walked with Rin towards school after breakfast.

" _Hide?" Saber echoed._

" _Well, that is…" Shirou fumbled, trying to explain to his Servant who was looking at him with a mix of curiosity and expectation, why she had to stay out of sight in a guest room. "Rin's not a magus or anything like that. She's just a normal girl."_

" _Emiya-kun, the food's getting cold!" the shout came from the dining room._

" _Yeah, I'll be there in a bit!" Shirou shouted back before turning back to Saber. "That's why…I'm sorry to say this, but you're going to have to hide in here until we finish and leave for the day."_

" _I understand." Saber said with a nod. "You do not wish to involve those close to you but are unaware of the events in this city, and for their sake, I must keep myself scarce, is that not so?"_

" _I'm really sorry for this," Shirou said with a series of bows. "But, that's how it is."_

 _Saber silently regarded him for a moment, and then nodded again. "As I said," she began. "I understand your reasoning, Master, and I will abide it. Rest assured, I will not hold it against you."_

" _Alright," Shirou said with a nod and stepping back. "I'll sneak over some food before we leave, but anyway, sorry again."_

Shirou sighed rather deeply, drawing Rin's attentions to him. "Deep sighs usually indicate heavy thought." She observed. "Something wrong, Emiya-kun?"

Shirou sighed again, and shaking his head smiled at her. "No, not really," he said. "Just thinking of the school day up ahead. Somehow, I get the feeling it's going to be really heavy for some reason."

Rin raised an eyebrow, but didn't answer at once. "Is that so?" she eventually said with a small smile. "Then let's go with that."

Shirou glanced curiously at her at that, but she didn't say anything more, and after a moment's thought, Shirou thought it better not to pry. Instead, they simply continued their walk to school in silence.

* * *

"Hey!"

Shirou jolted, jumping back a step as Sakura greeted him cheerfully, leaning against the wall to one side of his classroom's door, clearly waiting for him as he prepared to leave for lunch. "Tohsaka-san," he said. "Can I help you?"

"Actually, yes you can." Sakura said with a nod. "Care to join me for lunch at the rooftop? We can it talk over something to eat, what I need your help for that is."

"Uh…sure…" Shirou fumbled. He knew she might approach him over the Grail war sooner or later, but he didn't expect it to be this soon. After all, she did say she wanted to think it over some more. But, given it had only been a few hours…that was some quick thinking. "Why not?"

Sakura grinned, and then turning, led the way to the rooftop, shooing away several whispering and giggling girls (and more than a few boys whispering among themselves) at the sight of the two of them, and sighing, Shirou followed. It didn't take long for them to reach the rooftop, and then to Shirou's alarm a bounded field fell into place as Sakura locked the door.

"Relax," Sakura said reassuringly. "It's just to make sure no one walks in on us or listens in. You understand why, don't you?"

Shirou sighed and nodded. "Yeah," he admitted. "I do."

Sakura smiled and walked over to the bench. As for Shirou, he just stood where he was for a few moments, and closing his eyes took a deep breath. Being in the suburbs, the air here was cleaner than might be expected in a city, and between the season and the height of the school building, was surprisingly crisp and cool, the same going for the breeze.

Opening his eyes, he walked over to join Sakura at the bench, and opening his bento box joined her in eating lunch. "So," Sakura said. "How are you?"

"Fine," Shirou said. "Thanks for patching me up again, by the way."

Sakura chuckled softly and nodded. "No problem," she said. "But to be honest, I wasn't sure my efforts last night would be for anything. Berserker hurt you really badly, sempai. Even for a magus, that wasn't an injury that could be taken lightly."

Shirou didn't answer, at least not verbally, just making sounds of understanding. Sakura smiled at them though. "Somehow," she said. "Despite the heavy injuries to your torso and the amount of blood you lost, you managed to hang on. Not only that, but when I started to heal you, I found out you had some sort of healing factor that helped the healing along. I don't know how it works, or where you got it from, but…well, if I had to guess, you might have held out indefinitely with it. Though, that's not necessarily a good thing."

Shirou made an uncomfortable sound at that, though he winced as he remembered the sheer agony from the previous night. "You…have a point there." He said. "If it's as bad as you say it was, then yeah, somehow holding on indefinitely without getting help is rather…well, I'd rather not think about it."

Sakura made a sound of assent, and then the two of them ate in silence for the next few minutes. "Come to think of it," Shirou began. "Could Saber have something to do with the factor?"

Sakura paused at that, and then resuming with a thoughtful frown thought it over for several moments. "I'm not sure how it would work," she eventually said. "But I can't say it's impossible either."

Shirou sighed. "Well," he said. "Unless either you or me get any other idea about where my healing factor's from, it's probably from Saber…somehow."

Sakura nodded slowly. "So once again," Shirou glumly remarked. "I've put yet another burden on her."

Sakura glanced at Shirou as he gave a heavy sigh, and silently turned back to her food for the next several moments. "Don't be too hard on yourself." She finally said. "You're an accidental Master after all. It's not really your fault that you're unprepared for your situation."

Shirou smiled weakly. "Thanks." He said. "She – Saber – said the same thing."

"Then there you go." Sakura said with a reassuring smile. "You now have two people telling you not to blame yourself, so stop being so hard on yourself."

Shirou laughed and nodded. "I get it." He said. "Well, I guess there's no point getting all hung up over it, so let me take your and Saber's advice."

"That's the spirit."

The two of them shared a laugh at that, and again fell into silence, which lasted until they finished their lunches. "Speaking of Saber," Shirou began as he closed his empty bento box. "I actually wanted to talk to you some more about the Servants."

Sakura made a thoughtful sound, tapping a finger against a cheek as she did so. After a few moments, she nodded slowly. "Come to think of it," she said. "In hindsight, me and Kirei were rather…vague, on them, weren't we? Sorry, sempai. It looks like we subconsciously expected you to know more than you really did, despite knowing otherwise."

"It's fine." Shirou said with a raised hand and a smile. "And we're talking right now, aren't we? So…here's a good chance to fill in the blanks."

"Right," Sakura said with a nod. "Okay, what do you want to know?"

"Well," Shirou began. "You've already told me about the command spells and stuff, and why Servants are summoned to begin with, and Saber's also told me that Servants gain a wish of their own like their Masters if they win. I also know they're incarnated Heroic Spirits. So…where do we go from there?"

Sakura nodded in understanding. "Alright," she said. "I see what you mean. Well then, let's go back to the summoning process first. As Kirei told you, Servants are basically Heroic Spirits incarnated as mysteries infinitely close to True Magic. And there's the key point, 'mysteries infinitely close to True Magic'. In truth, the summoning ritual is actually just a means to start and direct a summoning, the summoning is actually performed by the Grail itself. That's because to reach out beyond the World to the Throne of Heroes, and then incarnate the Heroic Spirit in physical form once more…well, there's no way any single magus could possibly pull it off on their own."

"Basically it's like a Grand Ritual then." Shirou said.

"Pretty much," Sakura said with a nod. "It's the reason why the Grail wars have such long intervals between them, the Grail needs to gather prana from the ley-lines running through this land to perform the summoning rituals with."

"I see."

"But," Sakura continued. "Even the Grail has its limitations. Remember, the Grail's mysteries are infinitely-close to True Magic, but aren't actually there. In this case, the Grail can't summon a full-fledged Heroic Spirit itself, much less seven of them. Instead, the Servants are…containers, in a conceptual sense, that limit Heroic Spirits to the point that the Grail can incarnate them."

"I see." Shirou said again, with a nod this time. "I'm guessing it's related to why they're called 'Archer' or 'Saber', is it?"

"Yes." Sakura said with a nod of her own. "Heroic Spirits may only be summoned as a Servant of a class they're suited for. Generally-speaking, the attributes of each class are…"

Sakura trailed off, pausing to hold up a finger. "There's your Saber." She said. "Sabers are…well, technically they're very high-performance jacks-of-all-trades. Balanced in terms of overall performance, but very good in all areas, if outclassed in specialization."

"That makes sense." Shirou said with a nod.

Sakura held up another finger. "There's my Archer." She then said. "Archers are ranged combat specialists…obviously."

"Obviously," Shirou echoed with a grin, a grin that Sakura matched and grew at the mental image sent by Archer of him rolling his eyes.

"Archers are also the most versatile of all Servants, capable of adapting to situations more easily than other classes." Sakura continued before holding up a third finger. "Then there's the Lancer. Lancers are the best-suited for close combat, and are also usually the most agile of the Servants. Then there's the Rider, which usually have average or lower-than-average performance on their own, but tend to balance it out with powerful Noble Phantasms."

"Noble Phantasms?" Shirou echoed.

"Crystallizations of their legends," Sakura explained, lowering her hands. "Usually these are their weapons, armor, equipment, or unique abilities that reflect actions they committed in life."

"I see."

Sakura nodded and continued. "Then there's the Berserker." She said. "These are usually Heroic Spirits who went insane in life, and as Servants are summoned insane. But while this makes them…less than subtle and intelligent, well, it actually gives a huge boost to their raw power. In terms of pure strength, no class is stronger than the Berserker."

Shirou set his face at the reminder of the monstrous Servant from last night, and a moment's thought recalled the legend of Heracles, about how in a fit of madness he killed his wife and children. " _That explains how someone like him fits the Berserker Class._ " He thought.

"Next we have the Caster." Sakura said. "This one is a wolf in sheep's clothing. Casters are the weakest in direct contact…but a key distinction of the class is their usual tendency to wield magecraft beyond those of modern magi."

Sakura paused and shrugged. "Potentially not too useful against other Servants, depending on their level of magical resistance," she said. "But against Masters…"

Shirou nodded grimly. "I get what you mean." He simply said, and Sakura moved on.

"The last class is the Assassin." She said. "The weakest in terms of overall performance…but that's only when matched up against other Servants. You see, this class is specifically meant to target Masters…but you figured that out from the moment I said the class' name, didn't you?"

Shirou lowered his face, and nodded. "Yeah," he said. "I did."

Sakura fell silent, the two magi sitting silently for the next couple of minutes deep in thought, the breeze blowing gently around them. And then Shirou sighed, and looked back up at Sakura. "Sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to…well, ruin the mood. But…"

"It's alright." Sakura said with a smile. "I understand."

Shirou nodded and smiled back. "So," he said. "Anything else you can tell me about the Servants?"

Sakura smiled wider at his implied suggestion to move on. "Okay," she said. "I've explained the summoning and the classes so…ah, yes. As already mentioned, Servants are mysteries in themselves. And like all mysteries they require a constant amount of prana to function, or in their case to continue to exist without, well, vanishing."

Shirou's eyes widened at that. "This prana is provided by the Master." Sakura said. "Servants can build up reserves by only using the bare minimum they need to exist, which drops when they stay in astral form, and increases as they use their abilities, heal, use their Noble Phantasms, and things like that."

"But," Shirou said. "That means they're still ultimately dependent on their Masters to exist, aren't they? Once their reserves run out, if they don't get more prana from their Masters…"

"They vanish." Sakura said. "Default defeat…but conversely, even if their Masters are defeated or killed or run out of command spells, a Servant with sufficient reserves can exist without a Master for a time…"

"And if they find a magus with command spells," Shirou finished. "That is, a Master who's lost their Servant, they can make a new contract and rejoin the war. That's what you said last night, didn't you?"

"Yes."

Shirou again lowered his face in thought, but after only a few moments looked back up with an expression of alarm. "About that connection between Masters and Servants," he said. "Can you feel it?"

"Well," Sakura answered with some confusion. "Yes, but it's a very subtle thing…"

Shirou briefly looked away. "Do you think…" he hesitantly began. "Do you think my accidental summoning of Saber…do you think it might mean I can't supply her with prana. I mean, I've always known I don't have much, but…"

Shirou didn't finish what he was saying, but after a moment's thought Sakura gave an answer regardless. "I don't really know, to be honest." She said. "You might want to ask Saber, though. But, if I remember right she did say recovering prana…was…going to be difficult…"

Sakura trailed off uncomfortably, and Shirou sighed and shook his head. "I knew it." He said glumly. "Tohsaka-san, do you…no, never mind."

Sakura briefly opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it in thought. She suspected Shirou was going to ask if she knew how to fix that problem, and while she did, she decided not to bring it up until he did. Which he might…given what she was going to ask of him.

"So…anything else?" Shirou asked.

"One last thing." Sakura said. "Class names are more than just categories based on abilities and such. They're also used to hide your Servant's true identity for as long as possible, because once it's been found out, well, it's all too likely weaknesses that could be taken advantage of can be found out."

"That makes sense." Shirou said only for his eyes to widen and then narrow in realization. "No wait, that girl last night, she…!"

"Yes, I get what you mean." Sakura said with a grim nod and tone. "Normally revealing your own Servant's identity is a mistake of the highest degree, but in Einzbern's case, well, the benefits of revealing who he is could be worth more than keeping it secret. An utterly first-class Servant summoned as Berserker…"

Sakura shook her head. "That crazy little girl is not someone to take lightly." She finished, and Shirou nodded.

Again, silence fell over them, Shirou sitting with his head lowered in thought, while Sakura absent-mindedly looked up and away at the sky. The breeze picked up slightly, whipping through their hair but not badly so, and after several minutes of thought Shirou looked up at the girl sitting across the bench from him.

It was the first time Shirou could look at her closely and while she was relaxed too, and after a moment found himself drawn to her eyes. They were blue, a bright shade rare among Japanese, and usually only among those with foreign ancestry.

Not that it really mattered of course, and more than that Shirou couldn't help but compare it to the clear blue sky, stretching out above and beyond one's reach, and making one wonder at what lay beyond the horizon. And as the breeze slackened, Sakura blinked and blushing slightly at finding Shirou's gaze on her, coughed. "W-what is it?" she asked.

Shirou blinked and coughed himself. "N-nothing," he said. "Anyway, thanks for being so open with me, Tohsaka-san. I really appreciate you telling me all about the Servants."

"You're welcome." Sakura said. "I just…"

She trailed off, briefly looking away as Shirou blinked in confusion. "No, it's nothing." She said. "And, I wanted…that is, to ask you something."

"Huh?"

"Emiya-sempai," Sakura began. "Do you want to be allies?"

Shirou didn't answer in surprise, and Sakura's eyes looked away again before she lowered her face and looked back at him. "You see," she said softly. "My Archer's still not up after getting wounded by Saber…no, I'm not trying to make you feel obliged amends that is…um…"

Shirou chuckled at Sakura getting flustered, causing her to get even flustered some more (and missing a virtually-identical chuckle from Archer). "I don't mind." He said. "As I said earlier, I don't want to be your enemy any more than more than you want to be mine."

"Yes," Sakura said, before giving a cough. "Also, before you bring up something along the lines of 'are you sure you want to be allies with someone like me' or something like that, while we're allies, I'm willing to help you bring your magecraft up to speed so…"

"Well I'm thankful for that, and I'm willing to accept, but…"

"But…?" Sakura echoed.

"As I said, I don't mind." Shirou said. "So you don't have to give up any family secrets to get me to accept. I mean, I know things like those are really well-guarded by magi so…"

"I wasn't going to." Sakura said as Shirou trailed off. "I'm sure there are things I could teach you without giving up any family secrets…I think."

Shirou laughed again, and after a moment Sakura blushed and rubbing the back of her head joined in on the laughter. "With that said though," Shirou said with a somewhat sad expression on his face. "My abilities aside, are you sure you can trust me?"

"Huh?"

"Well, it's just that magi are, well, not very trusting of each other, aren't they?"

Sakura briefly looked away at that. "Yes, that's like us." She said softly.

"So…"

Sakura met Shirou's eyes at that, causing him to trail off. After a moment, Sakura blinked and smiled. "I trust you, sempai." She said, and something about it caused Shirou to blush himself.

"What makes you so sure?" he asked. "I mean, well, no matter what I might say about myself, we barely know each other and…"

"I know I can trust you." Sakura said before giving a cheeky grin. "You're the school janitor, aren't you?"

Shirou blinked and then burst out laughing. Sakura blushed, and weakly laughing, rubbed the back of her head. "I'm not sure whether to be insulted or not," Shirou eventually said. "But, I guess that's a good enough reason."

Silence fell between the two of them, and as it stretched out, Sakure lowered her face while looking hopefully at a perplexed Shirou. "So?" she eventually asked softly.

Shirou blinked and then chuckled. "As I said," he began. "It's fine. I'll have to talk about it first with Saber of course, but I'm sure she'll say yes. So…"

Shirou held out a hand and smiled. "If you want to be allies since you can trust me and need me to help you out," he said. "Then, I'll be your ally. I'll trust you too, just like you trust me."

Sakura stared at the offered hand for a moment, and then with a blush and a small smile took it and shook it. "Thank you, sempai." She said softly, and Shirou smiled wider.

"You're welcome."

* * *

A/N

Long chapter, with filler beginning and lots of mandatory detail to fill things out we know but certain members of the cast don't and need to be told for the story to have meat…

…and finally, pairing locked! A bit short to do so especially compared to what came before, and needs lots more work for it to be realized, but it'll do as a start.


	10. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Transposition

Chapter 9

Golden afternoon light shone down over the suburbs, gently washing through the paper walls of the Emiya mansion and softly illuminating the rooms within. In one of the guest rooms, Saber and Shirou sat on the floor, the latter telling the former about Sakura's offer of an alliance, and how Shirou had already given tentative agreement depending on Saber's opinion.

Saber closed her eyes in thought for a few moments. "The decision is ultimately yours, Master." She finally said, opening her eyes. "Though, I am grateful that you would consider my opinion on the matter."

Shirou smiled gently. "Well," he said. "The Master and Servant thing isn't or shouldn't be one-sided, should it?"

"Indeed it should not." Saber agreed with a smile. "While there probably are those who would think Servants should be completely subordinate to their Masters, I would think of it as closer to the relationship between a knight and his lord, with both having obligations to the other. Master and Servant, not master and slave."

Shirou nodded, and then held a hand up in an asking gesture. "I think so too." He said. "But, what do you think about Tohsaka's offer?"

"I think we should accept." Saber said. "While she may be an enemy in the future, I do not think she is the kind to betray us suddenly, and will openly break the alliance before becoming the enemy."

Shirou looked troubled. "What makes you say that?" he asked.

"She invoked the truce of parley last night." Saber said. "Furthermore, the way she did so while under the shadow of my sword indicated that she did so not out of desperation, but out of true understanding and respect for the ancient tradition of parley. If nothing else, I believe that shows proof that Sakura Tohsaka is an honorable character, whether as foe or ally."

"…yeah, I think I get what you mean…" Shirou softly began. "But, I meant more…what do you mean she might still be an enemy in the future? I mean…"

"Did you forget, Master?" Saber interrupted. "There can only be one victor in the Holy Grail War, one Master, and one Servant. Even if we stay allies with Sakura Tohsaka until the very end, the contest won't truly end until either I or Archer fall at the hands of the other, or perhaps even…"

Saber trailed off as Shirou sighed and scratched irritably at his head. "This is just…" he began, only to shake his head. "It's nothing."

Saber said nothing more for a couple of moments. "Another reason why you should accept this alliance is that it would allow you to improve your skills, Master." She added. "You did say she offered to help you with your magecraft, did she not?"

"Yeah, she did." Shirou said. "I don't really care much about that though. Still…"

Shirou trailed off and sighed again before smiling. "So in short," he said. "You think we should accept the offered alliance then?"

"I do, Master." Saber said with a nod, and Shirou smiled wider.

"Alright, then. I'll tell her tomorrow." He said, and Saber nodded again. "Oh, and one more thing. You don't have to keep calling me 'master', I have a name after all. Shirou Emiya, so…just Shirou will do."

"Very well, Shirou," Saber said with a small bow. "I will do as you ask. It's certainly easier to address you by name than as my Master."

Shirou nodded, and Saber smiled at him, causing Shirou to pause. It was the first time he'd seen her smile and…

The sound of the front doors opening in the distance and Rin's voice drew his attention, and he briefly glanced in their direction. "Sorry," he said while getting up. "We'll talk some more about this later. I have to go and help prepare dinner, you see."

Saber nodded, and turning, Shirou opened the doors and closing them behind him, walked away to leave Saber in the growing dark.

* * *

Archer sat in an armchair in the Tohsaka mansion's living room, staring at the big bowl of ramen placed in front of him. He glanced at Sakura who stared back at him. He glanced back at the ramen, and then back at Sakura. "What's this?" he asked, pointing at the ramen.

"It's ramen." Sakura answered.

"I can see that!" Archer said before sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose. "What I mean is, what's this all about?"

Sakura leaned in. "If you don't want it," she said, her hands clasped behind her. "Then give it back."

Archer placed his hands protectively on the bowl, and Sakura beamed. "Just kidding!" she said, and causing Archer to face-palm as the girl erupted laughing.

"Sorry, sorry," Sakura said while stepping back. "In any case, that's my apology to you."

"Apology?" Archer echoed.

"Yes." Sakura said. "I was thinking I might have offended you by making an alliance with Emiya-sempai, and by extension with Saber. And I did say it was because you're not fit for battle right now…oh I said it again, didn't I? Sorry…anyway, you might consider yourself unwanted or unappreciated, so…I made you dinner!"

Archer stared exasperatedly at the beaming Sakura for a couple of moments, and then with a sigh he smiled at her. "Thank you very much." He said. "No, really. I appreciate the thought and effort."

Sakura's smile faded to a more natural one. "You're welcome." She said before prompting him. "But?"

"You needn't have bothered." Archer said. "I'm not offended, really. It's the truth after all. As I am right now, well, as you can see I can take physical form without collapsing on the spot, but against every Servant except Assassin and _maybe_ Caster, I wouldn't stand a chance. You making an alliance with another Master you can trust and with an effective Servant of their own is only common sense."

Archer sighed. "I haven't come this far without being able to see and accept the truth, after all." He said with a veiled tone of bitterness that caught Sakura by surprise, and after a moment, Archer glanced at her in realization. "No, it's nothing but an old…hero's, regrets, that's all."

Sakura's smile vanished, and she looked sad as she stood silent for a few moments. "Everyone has regrets." She said softly.

"Yes, they do." Archer agreed, smiling sadly at her. "Some more than others. Thanks for the sympathy but…"

Archer trailed off, and briefly closing her eyes, Sakura nodded. "Anyway," Archer said. "What about you? Aren't you going to join me for dinner?"

"Oh right!" Sakura said, before running off. She came back after several moments with a pair of small plates, saucers, soy sauce, and a platter of steaming dumplings that had Archer raising an eyebrow. It rose even further when she ran off yet again, coming back with hot tea and cups, and then running off _again_ had Archer's eyebrows going up as high as they could as Sakura arrived with another bowl – as big as Archer's own – of ramen.

"That's a big bowl." He observed as Sakura removed her apron, and tossing it to another chair, sat down at the couch.

"Hey!" she protested. "I burn through a lot of carbs every day. Don't judge me."

"True," Archer said while picking up his chopsticks. "Sorry, and thank you for the meal."

"No problem." Sakura said with a laugh, also picking up her own chopsticks and giving thanks.

The sounds of slurping filled the living room for the next minute or so, Master and Servant digging into their hot noodles. "This is really good." Archer eventually said. "Who taught you?"

"I taught myself." Sakura said. "It drives my guardian mad."

"Your guardian?" Archer asked. "Why?"

"He says if I had the time to become good at cooking Japanese food and noodles and dumplings in particular," Sakura answered after slurping up some noodles. "I could have used that time to become good at cooking Chinese food and mapo tofu in particular."

" _Come to think of it,_ " Archer thought. " _Rin was good at cooking Chinese food…and yeah, as I recall, Kotomine did have a fondness for mapo tofu._ "

"And what did he say?" he verbally asked.

Sakura finished chewing on a dumpling and swallowed it before giving an answer. "I told him I preferred Japanese food to Chinese food, and left it at that." She said before giggling evilly. "He gave me the stink eye and stalked off after I brushed it off."

Archer joined in on the laughter, having no qualms enjoying the discomfiture of one of his old (or not so old) enemies. "You're mean." He accused.

"I don't like mapo tofu." Sakura remarked. "Okay, it's not that bad, but Kirei is _obsessed_ with the stuff. I'm not sure if he does or not, but I wouldn't be surprised if he does eat that stuff at every meal every day."

" _Huh…_ " Archer thought to herself. " _That…that is very like her, to rebel in such a way. Sakura Matou rebelled against Zouken's expectations of her becoming a mindless puppet to his every whim by burying the core of her character deep down, and not letting Zouken snuff it out. It's a very…awkward, comparison, I suppose, that this Sakura rebelled against Kirei's expectations…_ "

Archer sighed as he continued to eat ramen, but glanced at Sakura with narrowed eyes. " _Though_ ," he thought. " _I have no doubt now, why Sakura is like this. Growing up alone with only a sinister priest for company and with all the pressures of a magus lineage on her, she decided to stop being so…introverted, and rebelled against the state of her life by letting others near her._ "

Archer laughed inwardly. " _It's the complete opposite of what her counterpart did,_ " he thought. " _But it's just like her, to fight as best she can against something that she doesn't agree with about the way things are, and what's expected of her. Rin though…_ "

Archer sighed inwardly. " _Rin just went with the way things were._ " He thought sadly. " _Her lineage and talents led to expectations that she would and should stand above others, and she did as was expected of her. Even though it only worsened the loneliness and isolation she suffered…she just accepted it. And now that she's a Matou…that…way of just falling in line of hers…_ "

Archer went back to eating, but thoughts were running fast in his head by this point. " _Though with that said,_ " he said. " _Sooner or later, Rin will be pushed to her limit, and admit how she really feels. Everything she's locked away to do as expected of her, to follow the line…_ "

Archer poured himself some tea and took a calming drink. " _What will happen,_ " he thought. " _When the resentment, hatred, anger, and all the emotions she must have felt and still feels at how Zouken treats her and she locks away, are unleashed when she's forced over her limit?_ "

Archer took another drink. " _The Rin I knew…the emotions she locked away…_ " he thought. " _They stopped her from killing her sister, provided her with a core of morality lacking among magi in general, and allowed her convince her sister that yes, she was loved once and still was. But Rin Matou…_ "

Archer closed his eyes as he lowered his cup. " _Rin_ ," he thought. " _What will you do, when you reach your limit here?_ "

Archer opened his eyes, and tightened his fingers around his cup. " _Or,_ " he thought. " _Have you already passed the limit, or even changed yourself like Sakura has, and are already plotting something against your tormentor?_ "

"Heavy thoughts?" Sakura suddenly prompted.

"Not really," Archer replied. "Just thinking about the future, that's all."

"Is that right?"

"Yes." Archer said. "And speaking of which, the alliance with the kid and his Saber aside, what's your plan for the future?"

"Nothing too far ahead," Sakura said, placing her chopsticks down. "We don't know what might happen on the battlefield after all. But currently, I want to focus on Caster."

"Not Lancer?"

"Lancer's a problem for later." Sakura said. "But right now, Caster's attacking people across the city, draining them of their life force to provide him or her with prana. Not only is this against the rules, it draws unnecessary attention. We've got to put a stop to it, one way or another."

"Agreed," Archer said, taking a dumpling with his chopsticks. "But, unless we find their hideout, all we can do is respond to Caster's actions. To put an end to their actions, we need to find them, and end them for good."

"Yes, that is a problem." Sakura admitted. "With that said, I'm already working on a possible solution."

"Oh?"

"It needs a bit more work," Sakura said. "But I think I can use Imaginary Numbers to track the flow of prana to where Caster is."

"Is that even possible?"

"It should be." Sakura said with a nod. "Imaginary Numbers are especially effective when applied to spiritual bodies, entities, and other things which operate on a conceptual level. Its core concept after all, is 'that which is possible but not on the physical plane'. With that said,"

Sakura broke off and sighed. "I'm working in the dark here." She said. "My family has barely any lore on Imaginary Numbers, so, creating a spell or spells based on Imaginary Numbers to follow and trace the flow of prana from Caster's familiars on the field back to wherever they are, is more than a bit hard to do. Still, I'll do my best."

Archer nodded sagely. "There's nothing wrong with that." He said. "Way back, you mentioned that the Matou girl was a genius, didn't you?"

"I did, and?"

"A genius is just someone with a head start." Archer said. "Nothing's stopping anyone from catching up, or pulling a lead on them. All you have to do is work and study hard. At least that's how I see it."

"Is that right?" Sakura said with a smile, also picking up her to chopsticks to get a dumpling of her own. "That reasoning runs into trouble given the way magi breed specific traits and talents among…"

"Talent and genius are not one and the same thing." Archer interrupted. "And even in the case of the former, it's pointless without investment of labor and effort to turn talent into achievement. A man with talent who doesn't invest enough into them will never be able to come close to someone average but does their all and at their best. You understand what I'm saying, don't you?"

Sakura was silent for several moments, and then she began laughing. Archer smiled as she laughed, and then a few moments later, Sakura stopped laughing and nodded. "Yeah, I get what you mean." She said. "My dad could be called an example."

"Oh?"

"He was neither a genius nor particularly talented." Sakura said. "But through hard work and honest effort, he was certified as a fourth rank at the Association, and if he'd more of a presence at the Clock Tower, I don't doubt he could have reached third rank."

Sakura laughed a bit more and nodded again at Archer. "You can be cool if you put your mind to it, aren't you?" she asked, and Archer chuckled.

"If you say so." He said, returning to his ramen. "But, I'm just being myself that's all."

"How modest of you."

Master and Servant shared a laugh at that.

* * *

"Wow Rin-chan!" Taiga gushed as she sat at Shirou's dining table. "You've really outdone yourself this time! Everything looks so delicious!"

"You say that so often, it's flattery pure and simple." Rin said with a smile from where she was sitting. "But thanks anyway."

" _Come to think of it,_ " Shirou thought from where he was sitting. " _Saber's been stuck inside that room of hers since this morning. This doesn't seem right._ "

Shirou blinked as Taiga held out her rice bowl. "Oh right," he said, making to sit down, only to pause as he saw an empty spot at the table where Saber could sit at. A glance from the corner of his eyes at the plentiful food on the table made him think how there was more enough to go around, and how Saber might feel being left out like this.

"Hey Shirou," Taiga impatiently prompted Shirou, waving her bowl in the air at him. "Stop spacing out already, and let's eat before the food gets cold."

"Right, right," Shirou said, taking the bowl and filling it up.

"Is something wrong, Emiya-kun?" Rin asked. "You don't usually space out like that."

"No, I'm just…a bit distracted, that's all." Shirou said while handing Taiga's bowl back to her. "Sorry."

 _No, this isn't right at all._

Rin just stared at Shirou with a veiled expression on her face, while a happily-muttering Taiga cheerfully divided the number of meatballs between them. "Alright!" she said loudly. "There's twenty-four meatballs, so that's eight each for us!"

Shirou made his decision. "No, wait a bit." He said while getting up. "I'll be back soon."

Ignoring Taiga's concerned questions, Shirou rushed off, not noticing at how Rin narrowed her eyes at his back. Making his way through his house's shadowed corridors, Shirou finally arrived at Saber's room, and opening the door found her sitting in the dark. "Hey, Saber." He said. "Let's go."

"Did something happen?" Saber asked.

"No, I just want to introduce you to everyone, that's all." He said, taking her hand and trying to pull her to her feet, only for Saber to resist.

"Wait a moment, I don't think this is a particularly…"

"It's not right for you to just sit here in the dark while we're eating up." Shirou said, still trying to pull Saber to her feet. "And besides, I shouldn't have to hide you like this, do I?"

"But you said…"

"I know what I said, but I'm sure I can find a way to keep Fuji-nee and Rin out of the war without treating like this, now come on." Shirou said, finally pulling the confused Saber to her feet. "Let's go before dinner gets cold."

* * *

Rin and Taiga stared at Saber and Shirou as they stood to one side, a meatball falling from slackened chopsticks back onto the spaghetti in Taiga's case. Shirou looked uncomfortable if resolved, while Saber was cool as a cucumber, unfazed by the attention on her.

"So um," Shirou began. "This is Saber. She'll be staying here for a little while."

Shirou paused and glanced at Saber. "Saber," he said. "You can sit here next to me."

"I still have my doubts about this," Saber observed. "Are you certain…"

"I'm sure." Shirou interrupted, sitting back down at the table. "It'll be good for us to eat together, and so if you're going to be staying here you're going to eat with the rest of us. Oh, and that means six meatballs for each of us."

 _That_ seemed to snap Taiga from her stupor. "OUTRAGEOUS!" she roared, prompting Shirou to cover his ears (he was sitting next to her after all).

"Shirou!" Taiga demanded, pointing a finger at Saber. "What's wrong with you? You can't just bring random girls into your house! This isn't a hotel or a motel or whatever you know!"

"Well, no," Shirou admitted before rallying. "But it's big enough to be, so what's wrong with one or two?"

"One or two?" Taiga echoed. "Are you saying there's more?"

"There's more?" Rin demanded in a scandalized tone.

"NO!" Shirou responded loudly. "Of course not! Why would you even think that?"

"But she's…"

"Look, Saber's…"

"Where exactly did you pick this girl up anyway?" Taiga demanded.

"I didn't 'pick her up', she's a…well…a relative."

Taiga actually laughed at that. "Distant relative, huh?" she asked. "Yeah right, you're going to have to do better than that, Shirou."

"It's the truth!" Shirou insisted, inwardly slapping himself at the first thought – well _lie_ – that slipped out. "Look, I don't know the details, but she's connected to dad and came here because of him."

"You don't really expect us to believe that, do you?" Taiga asked. "There's no way Kiritsugu would have…okay, so he might have had foreign connections I didn't know about…"

"See!"

"But that's not the point!" Taiga ferociously stood her ground. "It's still improper! You! Why are you really here?"

"I already told you…!" Shirou began only for Taiga to stare him down.

"Shirou, be quiet! This is for your own good!" she thundered before turning back to Saber.

Saber glanced at Taiga from the corner of her eyes, and narrowed them slightly before giving an answer. "I am here," she said. "To protect Shirou from his enemies, as per Kiritsugu's will. That's all there is to it."

Something about the steely glint in Saber's eyes unsettled Taiga, and she briefly faltered before rallying. "I-is that so?" she stammered out. "Alright then…!"

Shirou and Rin blinked as Taiga got to her feet. "If you're really here to protect him," she began. "I say we see how good you really are!"

"What?" Shirou and Saber asked.

Taiga grinned, and flexed one of her arms for effect. "Let's see what you've got."

* * *

"The only way I'm letting you stay here is if you – somehow – beat me."

The four of them – Shirou, Saber, Taiga, and Rin – were gathered in the dojo. Shirou and Rin standing to one side, and Taiga and Saber facing each other in the middle.

"But if you lose," Taiga continued. "It's off with you."

"Very well," Saber said. "Though I must say, this is rather unnecessary."

"Can't we just talk about this over dinner?" Shirou asked. "It's getting cold too!"

"Shirou, be quiet!" Taiga shouted at him. "Can't you see I'm doing this for your sake?"

"Shall we begin then?" Saber asked calmly. "If I must prove my worth protecting Shirou, then I will do so to the best of my ability."

Something about that just ticked Taiga off, prompting a vein to throb at her forehead. "You're rather full of yourself, aren't you?" she snarled, before swinging up her _shinai_ and stepping into a stance charged at Saber. "Let's go blondie!"

Shirou glanced at Saber, and blinked as he saw one of her hand flexing as though holding a sword. Taiga closed, and then with the sound of two hard surfaces striking each other, her _shinai_ went flying to her shock and surprise.

Flipping through the air, it landed in Saber's hand, the blonde somehow having stepped past Taiga and opened up the distance between them much to Taiga's shock. "Are you satisfied?" Saber asked.

For a few moments, Taiga just stared at Saber in shock, and then chuckling to herself reached behind her and into the back of her dress. "As if!" she shouted, pulling out another _shinai_ as she did so. "I'm just getting started!"

Shouting as though she was in a match in a _kendo_ tournament, Taiga smoothly slipped the _shinai_ into a proper grip while charging, and taking her _shinai_ in both hands, Saber stepped into a stance of her own. But then the _shinai_ burst, revealing itself to be some sort of joke item much to Saber's surprise.

"I've got you now!" Taiga shouted, swinging down.

Again, there was the sound of two hard surfaces striking each other, and Taiga's _shinai_ went flying. And again, it landed in Saber's hand, who'd once again stepped past Taiga and opened up the distance between them.

As Taiga stared and stammered incoherently in shock and disbelief, Saber tossed the joke _shinai_ away, and hefting the real _shinai_ a couple of times began to walk towards Taiga. "If you wish to continue," Saber began. "I'm more than willing to oblige. However, I'm fairly certain the outcome is quite obvious by this point, is it not?"

Pausing as she came within reach of Taiga, she lightly struck the teacher on the head once, and caused her to collapse – almost comically – to her knees. The only way it would be more comic that it already was would be if she started crying, even more so as she wailed out.

"Some weirdo stole Shirou from me!"

"Weirdo? Really?" Shirou asked no one in particular, palming his face. Rin likewise palmed her face and shook her head.

* * *

"What?"

Shirou just stared incredulously at Taiga, Rin, and Saber in blue and white yukatas, Rin setting up three futons in the one of the larger guest rooms as Taiga faced off against Shirou. "You heard me." Taiga said, ignoring Saber standing to the side adjusting her yukata. "I can't just let a young man and woman of school age to live alone together. So I'm staying the night until I'm sure you can be left on your own unchaperoned."

"Look," Shirou began heatedly. "I understand your position, but this is just ridiculous. There's no way either Saber or me are…"

"No matter what you say, I've made my decision so leave it be, Shirou." Taiga firmly interrupted.

"The futons are ready." Rin added deadpan, and with a nod, Taiga turned towards her while making way for Saber.

"Okay, thanks Rin-chan." Taiga said cheerfully. "Saber-chan, why don't you take the futon in the middle."

"While I appreciate your position and responsibility," Saber began. "If I am to protect Shirou it would be better if I spent the night in his room."

Taiga just growled before closing her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest, and prompting Shirou to step closer to Saber. "I think we should just let this go." He said softly. "She's already given a lot away, so, might as well."

"But, Shirou…"

Shirou smiled, and leaning closer, began to whisper to her. "In any case," he said. "There's a bounded field around the property so we'll know if anyone unfriendly or otherwise shows up. I'm just a few rooms away, so…"

Shirou trailed off, but Saber nodded in agreement. "Very well," she said, and Shirou stepped away.

"Alright then," he said cheerfully. "I'm off to my room, so good night everyone."

"Good night, Shirou!" Taiga said with a grin, and Rin nodded as well.

"Good night, Emiya-kun." She said.

Shirou nodded, and turning opened the doors to leave. Closing them behind him, he'd only taken a few steps when the doors opened behind him, and Saber stepped out. "Shirou," she began, closing the doors behind her before walking closer. "There's something I must ask."

"Huh?"

"Why did you introduce me to them?" Saber asked. "You know it only puts those you care for at risk, don't you?"

Shirou stayed silent for a few moments before he sighed. "Yes, I know." He said. "But, even so, it didn't feel right, leaving you all on your own, while we're enjoying ourselves. As for the risk, well, let me worry about that, alright?"

"Shirou…"

Shirou nodded and turning left down the corridor, and after another moment Saber likewise turned, and returned to where Rin and Taiga were waiting.

* * *

A/N

Again, more filler, but necessary to bridge plot points. Not everything can be all excitement and glory, blah, blah, blah…

…ahem, look on the bright side, we get plenty of EMIYA, and him channeling his inner Shirou (though he'd sooner die than admit that at heart he's still the Shirou Emiya we know and love) and how hard work trumps or at least equals genius. He's like Tokiomi in that way, as canonically he was just average in terms of talent (admittedly so in fact) but achieved a high level of magical achievement and prowess on pure effort alone.

And speaking of Tokiomi, well we don't know his actual rank in the Association, so I gave him the fourth rank (equal to Lord Waver El-Melloi II) on the basis that as an Association Supervisor he has at least some political credit to his name, and as I've already mentioned, he's a powerful magus despite being average in potential.


	11. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Transposition

Chapter 10

Eyes kept flicking back and forth between most of the diners around Shirou's dining table, from the food on the table to the blonde girl and then to each other. Conversation was stilled, partly due to the fact that they were eating, and also out of a measure of…awe, at the rate Saber was eating.

It wasn't so much that Saber was hogging the food, as she neither stopped others from getting servings of their own or taking overly large servings herself. And neither did she seem to rush eating one serving so as to get more afterward, taking time to chew her food well before swallowing.

And yet, despite that, she was eating at a surprisingly fast pace, and coupled with her politely helping herself to Rin's cooking…

"Um…Rin-chan…" Taiga hesitantly asked. "How many servings of rice has Saber had?"

"Four…" Rin answered blankly, and then blinked as Saber held out her rice bowl.

"Another serving, please." Saber politely prompted as Rin stared at the bowl.

"Y-yeah…" Rin managed to say, before lowering her rice bowl to the table. And then taking Saber's rice bowl filled it up with rice from the rice cooker beside her, and handed it back to the blonde.

"Thank you." Saber said with a nod, taking the bowl and resuming to eat.

"Um…" Taiga leaned over to Shirou who glanced at her curiously. "Is there something I need to know? I mean, we talked things over with her last night and managed to come to an understanding so…"

"Well to be honest I'm not really sure what you mean." Shirou answered with an uncertain laugh. "I guess she just had a big appetite and we didn't notice until now. And speaking of which, Fuji-nee you might want to hurry."

"What are you talking about? It's not even remotely close…"

"I didn't mean the time." Shirou interrupted lightly, and pointed his chopsticks at the table. Taiga followed the chopsticks' direction, and began to stammer out incoherently as she saw the near-empty bowls and platters on the table. While it wasn't like she hadn't been able to eat anything, she had yet to eat her fill either.

And as if on cue, Saber finished her fifth bowl, and setting it on the table laid her chopsticks crosswise over the bowl. "Thanks you for the meal." She said politely.

"NO!" Taiga wailed as she grabbed a near-empty bowl and began scooping out what was left onto her rice. "NO! NO! NO! There's no _natto_ left! That's the source of my power…"

Ignoring the older woman's wailing, Rin glanced at Shirou and raised an eyebrow. The redhead blinked, and then glancing at the stoic and cool blonde sitting next to him turned back to Rin with a weak smile.

The violet-haired girl just rolled her eyes.

* * *

Over half an hour later, having finished cleaning up (and a despondent Taiga having gone on ahead), Rin and Shirou were putting their shoes on to go to school when Rin noticed someone approaching. With Shirou seemingly oblivious to his surroundings, Rin sighed and taking hold of his shoulder, half-forcibly turned the surprised Shirou to face the newcomer.

"Wha…!" he burst out as he saw Saber standing there looking expectant, and after a few moments Shirou pulled himself together. "Um, can I help you?"

"Shirou, can I speak with you for a moment?" Saber asked.

"Um, sure."

"In private, please."

Shirou stared, and then glancing at his shoes, sighed. "Alright, alright," he said, exasperatedly taking off his shoes and following Saber further into the house, not noticing Rin's eyes boring into their backs.

Once they were out of earshot, Saber stopped walking and turned to face Shirou. "Shirou," she began, speaking in a soft voice. "I'm sure you know that unlike most Servants I cannot enter astral form."

"Yes, I know." Shirou said with a nod. "I also know it's at least partly my fault, so sorry."

Saber looked taken aback for a moment. "There's no need for that, Shirou, but thank you." She said. "In any case, this should be addressed now. With me unable to enter astral form, I cannot remain by your side during your day-to-day activities without drawing undue attention and inconveniencing yourself. Given that is the case, I must ask you: the moment you sense danger, please, use a command spell and summon me to your side."

Shirou blinked, and then glanced down at the trio of tattoos that made up his command spells. After a moment he looked back up at Saber and sighed. "I understand." He said. "I'd rather not have to use these, but I'd rather be dead even less."

Saber nodded in agreement, and Shirou smiled at her. "Aside from that though," he said. "You're really fine with the alliance with Tohsaka? I'm going to have to give her an answer today."

Saber nodded. "As I said yesterday afternoon," she began. "It would certainly benefit us to have an ally, and she seems trustworthy."

Shirou nodded back. "Alright then," he said. "If there's nothing more then I'll be going. You'll be fine by yourself, right?"

Saber nodded again. "Yes," she said. "Take care, Shirou."

Shirou nodded, and turning returned to the foyer to put his shoes on before leaving with Rin, and leaving Saber alone in the house for the day.

* * *

Sakura purposefully strode down Homurahara's corridors, slipping through the knots and currents of students along the way, and exchanging greetings with friends and acquaintances along the way. Reaching her destination, she knocked once on the frame of the open door and drew the attention of those inside.

One student, sitting on the front row, half-turned in his seat to give a loud call to one of his classmates in the back. "Hey Saito!" he said. "Your star player is here."

Kikuchi Saito, Captain of the Track and Field Team glanced in Sakura's direction, and after some more words with his girlfriend made his way over to where Sakura was. "Good morning," Kikuchi began. "Can I help you?"

"Good morning to you too." Sakura said with a nod. "Actually, I just came to tell you I can't attend practice this afternoon."

Kikuchi raised an eyebrow. "And why not?" he asked. "I mean, if you have a good reason of course it's fine, but you know…"

The older boy trailed off, making a vague gesture with his hands. "Yeah, I get what you mean." Sakura said with a nod. "And I do have a good reason. Part of my house's roof caved-in recently, and I need to arrange for repairs and everything else that comes with it. And I've got to do it this afternoon."

"Your…house's roof…caved-in…what?" Kikuchi skeptically said. "Seriously?"

"It's an old house!" Sakura protested. "Built shortly after World War II if I remember right, after the original house got burned down during the war."

"She's probably telling the truth, Kikuchi!" Ritsuko Akiyama, Kikuchi's girlfriend, loudly said. "Way too outrageous to be a lie, and Tohsaka _is_ an old family, isn't it?"

"Old enough," Sakura said, giving the older girl a thankful wave of a hand, which Ritsuko acknowledged with a nod.

Kikuchi sighed and nodded. "Alright, alright," he said. "I'll take your word for it. And it's not like you've deliberately skipped out on practice before, or taken advantage of my trust, so alright. Good luck with what you have to do, and sorry about the house."

"Thanks," Sakura said with a nod, and taking a step back. "I'll make it up to you guys, don't worry."

"I'm sure you will." Kikuchi said with a nod and a smile. "Off you go, then."

"Right," Sakura said, turning and walking away. "See you."

Kikuchi nodded and headed back into his classroom, while Sakura strode off to head to hers. " _Liar,_ " an amused Archer playfully accused her telepathically.

" _Okay, the part about having to arrange repairs this afternoon is a lie._ " Sakura admitted. " _Everything else is true: the caved-in roof, the fact that the house is old, the original one burned down, yadda-yadda-yadda. It's not like I could tell him I'm moving in with Emiya-sempai._ "

" _…even assuming Saber approves of your alliance,_ " Archer dryly began. " _What makes you so sure Emiya will let you move in anyway?_ "

" _First of all, sempai is too nice to say no._ " Sakura said with a mischievous smile.

" _…right…and…?_ "

Sakura paused, coming to a halt outside of an window to stare at the sky beyond. Moments later and a bird flew in, circled around the corridor a few times, and landing on Sakura's head tapped her crown a few times. And then it flew off, the familiar carrying the message to Shirou asking him to join Sakura for lunch on the roof later.

* * *

"…one reason I asked for this alliance is because my Archer as he is right now can't really protect me much less fight his battles if another Servant shows up and attacks." Sakura said to Shirou. "The latter aside, Saber won't be able to help me out even if we're her allies if I'm attacked and she's across town."

"Hmm…" Shirou hummed as he sat on a rooftop bench opposite to Sakura. As asked this morning, he'd joined her for lunch on the roof, telling her before they started on their meals that Saber had agreed to their alliance. Sakura had been pleased, and then after they'd finished their lunches had dropped her bombshell of asking to be allowed to move in into Shirou's house.

Needless to say, Shirou did not see this coming.

"I guess that's a good point to make." He finally said. "I won't be much of an ally if I or Saber can't cover for you when you need us."

Sakura nodded, and smiled. "In any case," she said. "I don't plan on being deadweight. Apart from helping you get your magecraft up to speed, I'm willing to do my share of the housework: cleaning, washing dishes, and even cooking. I won't wash your clothes, but I'm willing to reimburse you for the soap and…"

"Alright, alright," Shirou interrupted with a laugh. "You can stay over until your house is fixed or the war ends, whichever comes first, I have plenty of room. And normally I'd say as a guest you won't have to do anything of what you just said, but since you're offering I suppose I can't stop you if you want to help around the house. Except reimbursement: accepting money from a friend who's staying over out of need seems really shifty to me."

Sakura laughed too, rubbing the back of her head. "Yeah, I guess I got carried away there, didn't I?" she admitted. "At the very least though, let me contribute to the groceries if and when needed."

Shirou sighed and nodded. "It still feels like taking money," he said. "But, if you're buying food for the house, I can't say no. Never say no when people offer food."

Sakura nodded in agreement. "Well said," she remarked. "Moving on, um…that is…"

"Hmm?" Shirou hummed questioningly. "What is it?"

"Well, we never really discussed how long we'd stay allies." Sakura said uncomfortably. "Looking back over our talks about this, in hindsight I pretty much implied it'd be only until Archer was patched up, after which we'd be enemies again."

Shirou didn't say anything, though he did look troubled. "But," Sakura continued, lowering her face. "To turn on you after you let me stay at your house, and had your Servant protect me as well…it doesn't seem right."

Shirou stayed silent and troubled for a few more moments, and then he smiled. "No, it isn't." he said. "You're a good person, Tohsaka."

Sakura looked up in surprise, and then blushed slightly and lowered her face yet again when Shirou smiled wider at her. "Then, how about this?" he said. "We stay as allies until the war ends, and when it does, we'll have Saber and Archer settle things fairly between them."

Sakura silently stared at Shirou in surprise at his offered solution, the boy just smiling earnestly at her, and after several moments Sakura giggled and nodded. "Yes, that sounds good." She admitted before frowning. "But, what about us? Either way, one of us has to give up their wish and…"

"I don't mind."

"Huh?"

Shirou smiled at Sakura. "My wish…" he said softly. "Yes, my wish…it's not something I want the Grail to grant me. It's pointless you see, if I don't make it happen myself."

Sakura just stared at Shirou in surprise at that, the older boy looking away into the distance with a faint smile that seemed to hint at the determination to go as far as he needed to make his dream come true. After a few moments, Sakura sighed and nodded. "I get it." She said with a faint smile of her own. "You're a much more admirable person than I am."

"Huh?" Shirou asked, glancing at her in surprise. "Thanks, I think, but I'm not really that great."

"That's very modest of you." Sakura said, before briefly looking away and hesitating. "Hey…"

"What is it?"

"I um…that is…I wouldn't mind, you know, if you called me by my first name. So…"

Sakura trailed off uncomfortably, unable to meet Shirou's curious gaze. "Well, if you say so, Sakura." Shirou eventually said. "Thanks though, usually only friends are supposed to call each other by first name, right?"

"Yes," Sakura said, still unable to meet Shirou's gaze before sighing and finally meeting his eyes. "I guess this makes us friends, doesn't it?"

Shirou nodded his agreement, and Sakura beamed. "Alright," she said, getting up and stretching her limbs did a cartwheel once to her and Shirou's surprise.

 _I just feel…really, **really** light all of a sudden._

Holding her hands behind her back, she turned back to Shirou. "Now, Let's talk about strategy." She said.

"Heavy talk, huh?" Shirou said. "Alright, what do you have in mind?"

"As allies, we both have five other Servants to defeat." Sakura said. "And of those five, I think we should focus on Caster at present."

"Caster?" Shirou echoed. "Why?"

"I told you before, right?" Sakura responded. "Servants need prana to exist in this world, usually supplied by the Masters."

"Yes, you did."

"But that's not the only way Servants can obtain prana to sustain themselves and use their abilities." Sakura said darkly. "I'm sure you've heard about the gas leaks around the city, haven't you?"

"Yes…no way!" Shirou snarled, leaping to his feet. "Those…Caster's behind them?"

"Yes." Sakura confirmed, and causing Shirou to clench his fists angrily. "Servants, in this case, Caster, can gain additional prana by draining people of their life forces. Thankfully, no one's been killed so far, which is why Kirei hasn't done anything. The rules only prohibit the killing of those uninvolved in the war, so…"

"That's a loophole, and you know it." Shirou snapped.

"Of course I do." Sakura said with a nod. "But Kirei's hands are tied in this. He's the Overseer, and he above all others, has to follow the rules. After all, if the Overseer doesn't set an example, then who will?"

Shirou growled unhappily but nodded his agreement after a few moments. "But even then," he finally said. "We can't just let Caster keep going at this. If I remember right, at least a hundred people have already been hospitalized from those 'gas leaks', and while no one's died yet, I'm sure it's only a matter of time before someone eventually does die."

"I think so too." Sakura agreed with a nod. "That's why I think we should focus on Caster first. Of course, we still have to find their hideout, and Caster being Caster I doubt familiars will be enough to find them. With that said, I'm working on a spell which I hope, can trace Caster's flow of prana back to their hideout. It still needs some more work, and I'm working on it as much as I can, but…"

Sakura trailed off, but Shirou nodded in understanding. "Please finish as soon as you can." He said. "We need to put a stop to Caster…damn it…innocent people…damn it…"

"I know how you feel." Sakura said after a moment, stepping forward to place a hand on Shiou's shoulder. "And I understand. But, we can't rush this."

"I know." Shirou said with a deep breath. "I know, but even so…"

He trailed off, and Sakura nodded. "After Caster," she continued. "I say we focus on Lancer."

"Lancer?" Shirou echoed after a moment, remembering the spandex-clad, blue-haired man with the red spear. Phantom pain tugged at his chest, and Shirou suppressed the urge to rub it. "Why him in particular?"

"For one thing, it'd eliminate the only…relative overall equal to our Servants." Sakura said. "Lancer, Saber, and Archer: these three are called the three Servant Knights, thanks to their overall superior performance compared to the other classes. With Lancer defeated, with Saber and Archer together we'll have an overall advantage in terms of Servants."

"I see, so that's how it is." Shirou said. "And? I guess there's another reason."

Sakura briefly hesitated, and then sighed uncomfortably. "Do you know about the family that was murdered in their home a few days ago?" she asked.

Shirou did, and the realization that struck him nearly boiled his temper over. "Lancer did that?" he snarled, and he grit his teeth and clenched his fists as Sakura nodded in agreement.

"I'm sorry," Sakura began. "I…"

"You don't need to apologize." Shirou interrupted before taking a deep breath. "You didn't do anything wrong. And more importantly, what's Kirei done about it?"

"Unfortunately, while Kirei's done what he can, Lancer and his Master still remain in the contest."

"What?" Shirou said, outraged. "But, they broke the rules! They attacked and killed people who weren't part of the war! So why…?"

"Breaking the rules once doesn't automatically mean disqualification." Sakura said unhappily. "And there's also the degree in which they were broken to consider. And I imagine, politics may come into play."

"Politics?" Shirou echoed in confusion.

"As the Overseer Kirei is the Church's representative. As in he speaks for his organization in this matter. So…"

Sakura trailed off, while Shirou snarled wordlessly and looked away. He paced a few steps back and forth, and then running a hand through his hair took a deep breath. "Alright," he began. "Alright, I understand Kotomine's position. But, we're not limited the same way he is, are we?"

Sakura smiled wolfishly, and Shirou smiled to match. "Caster and Lancer…we'll deal with them and keep them from hurting or killing more people than they already have." Shirou said, and Sakura nodded in agreement. "And after that…"

"After that," Sakura interrupted. "We'll see."

Shirou glanced curiously at her, and Sakura tilted her head. "Let's not look too far ahead," she said. "Or we might miss things nearby."

"Good point," Shirou agreed with a nod before giving a sigh and shaking his head. "Really, the day was shaping so well, and now…"

Shirou trailed off, and Sakura nodded in agreement, the light feeling from earlier now completely gone. As they stood in silence on the roof, the warning bells rang, and sharing a glance between them began packing up their lunch things in silence.

"One last thing though," Shirou said as Sakura released the bounded field and they prepared to head back down. "About you moving in, Fuji-nee might prove…troublesome."

"Fujimura-sensei, you mean?"

"Yes."

"Hmm," Sakura hummed in thought for a few moments, and then nodded. "Right, I've got it. Just leave it to me."

* * *

Night was beginning to fall when Saber sensed a Servant approaching Shirou's house, and causing the blonde's eyes to snap open. It took only a moment to realize the non-belligerent air of the approaching Servant, and another moment to recognize it as Archer.

Getting up, Saber fixed her bed – having slept most of the day away to conserve prana – before heading to greet Shirou and his guests on arrival. "Hello, Saber." Sakura cheerfully greeted the blonde Saber arrived at the foyer.

"Hello, Miss Tohsaka, wasn't it?" Saber asked, and Sakura nodded. Saber then turned to Shirou curiously. "Shirou, has something happened?"

"Yes, well, not really, or rather nothing bad happened…" Shirou fumbled before coughing. "Sakura will be staying over now that we're allies. Also, we've come to an agreement: we'll be allies until the end of the war, at which point Archer and you should settle things fairly between yourselves."

"I see." Saber said with a nod, noticing the chest and the trolley bag sitting on the floor next to Shirou and Sakura. "The conditions of the alliance agreement are just: I approve."

Sakura grinned. "In that case," she said before giving a perfectly-angled bow. "I look forward to working with you."

"Likewise, Miss Tohsaka." Saber said, returning the bow. As Sakura straightened, she looked at an open spot behind her, and made way.

"Archer," she said, and the tall and tan Servant materialized. "We're allies now, so, care to give your greetings?"

Archer glanced at Sakura with a hint of exasperation, and then giving a faint smile extended a hand to Saber. "Servant Saber," he said. "Servant Archer; I'm pleased to meet you. Though we'll have to settle things between us in the future, for the sake of my Master, I'll be sure to fulfill my obligations as an ally until that time comes."

"I expect nothing less." Saber said, taking the offered hand and shaking. "Both of you, and of myself, whether as allies, and when the time comes to settle things."

Archer smiled wider and nodded, and after Saber released his hand Archer turned to Sakura. "Sakura," he said. "I'll return to astral form to conserve prana, but if you don't mind I'll take up a station on the roof. I might not be able to fight, but my eyesight's as good as ever. If an enemy approaches, then I'll be able to give advance warning well ahead of time."

Sakura nodded, and with a nod of his own Archer returned to astral form. "Now then," Sakura said glancing to Shirou who nodded.

"Right," he said, slipping on a pair of slippers as Sakura did the same. "Follow me, I'll take you to your room."

"Sorry for the trouble." Sakura said as she followed Shirou into the house, and prompting him to laugh.

"Don't worry," he said. "It's no trouble at all."

* * *

"What?"

Sakura blinked as Shirou stared at her. "I said I'd cook dinner tonight, as thanks for letting me stay over." She said. "Besides, I'm sure it'd make Fujimura-sensei more accepting of me staying over if she sees from the start I'm not just taking advantage of you."

Shirou made some uncomfortable noises. "Well," he began, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head. "I…don't have any real…problems with it, and I'm sure you're right about Fuji-nee, but…"

"But…?"

Shirou couldn't quite answer, though Sakura caught some mumbling about forgetting about one thing or another. "What were you planning on cooking anyway?" he finally asked.

"Not sure," Sakura said, stepping into the kitchen and grabbing an apron put it on (all the while missing a worried expression on Shirou's face at her taking that particular apron). "Depends on what you have…maybe I should have passed by the grocery...too late by now though…let's see…I think I can…"

The sound of another girl announcing her arrival drew their attention, and closing the refrigerator Sakura headed out of the kitchen to the front of the house, Shirou following and still with a worried expression on his face. "That didn't sound like Fujimura-sensei," she said softly as she made her way to the foyer. "Who…oh."

Full grocery bags fell to the floor in shock as Rin stared at Sakura. "You!" she said in recognition. "What are you doing here?"

 _Shit, I forgot she was sempai's housekeeper. Matou magus and most likely Master as well aside…how likely is it she'd be territorial?_

 _We'll know soon enough, Sakura._

 _Quiet, Archer._

 _Yes, yes._

Sakura laughed awkwardly. "Well, you see um," she began. "Emiya-sempai and I have come to an understanding, and well…"

"An understanding?" Rin echoed, wide-eyed before narrowing her eyes at a very uncomfortable-looking Shirou. And then blinking, she zeroed in on Sakura again. "...that apron..."

Sakura glanced down at herself. "The apron?" she echoed. "What about…it?"

 _Shit…it's probably hers, isn't it?_

Rin didn't reply, instead opting to pick up her grocery bags before walking past and between Shirou and Sakura with cold dignity. "Emiya-kun," Rin said in notes of icy calm. "I'll be borrowing your kitchen. And, Tohsaka-san, I'd be very thankful if you returned my apron. I'll be needing it in the kitchen, after all."

Shirou and Sakura stared after the other girl left, and Shirou palmed his face. "Territorial, isn't she?" Sakura observed, and Shirou nodded with a groan. Sighing, Sakura removed the apron, and folding it glanced at Shirou. "Well, I better return this, shouldn't I?"

"I'll do it." Shirou said wearily, and taking the apron. "I'm sure she'll calm down eventually, but until then it's probably best you keep your distance. Still, I never expected she'd react like this, maybe with concern but nothing like this. What's with her?"

Sakura hummed to herself, but before she could answer one way or another the doors opened behind them again. "Shirou, I'm home!" Taiga cheerfully and loudly said before noticing Shirou and more importantly _Sakura_ standing in the foyer together. "Tohsaka-san? What are you doing here?"

Shirou glanced at Sakura, who glanced back. After a moment, Shirou sighed and turned to the expectant Taiga. "Yeah, about that," he began nervously. "Sakura, that is, Tohsaka-san, will be um, staying over for a while."

"…WHAT?"

* * *

A/N

Sakura's moved in, and Rin's not happy. Don't worry, Rin won't give up without a fight unlike canon Sakura did outside of Heaven's Feel. Tokiomi's wish of having the sisters fighting each other will come true, though whether it ends as he wanted it one way or another remains to be seen.


	12. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Transposition

Chapter 11

"Let me get this straight," Taiga loudly began, pounding a fist against the dinner table for emphasis. "You're letting another girl board at your house?"

Sakura sat beside Shirou, dressed in a collarless, short-sleeved shirt of white over comfortable, dark-blue shorts, head resting on an elbow as she watched Taiga tear into the older boy. Said boy was also looking rather contrite, head bowed as his guardian thundered at him. On his other side sat Saber, dressed in the clothes Sakura gave her, looking stoic and cool as she sat with hands folded on the table.

And in the background, one could hear Rin bustling around in the kitchen preparing dinner.

"…and now you bring home a schoolmate of all people!" Taiga continued, steadily building up steam as she went on. "Is this supposed to be some kind of TV drama-themed joke? If it is, well now, you've got something else coming to you because I did not raise you to be some kind of…"

Sakura sighed as Taiga finally exploded and grabbing Shirou's collar began to manhandle him over the table. Sitting up, Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose. "Um, excuse me, but can I just say one thing?" she asked.

"Huh?" Taiga asked belligerently, roughly (but not too roughly) shoving Shirou back before throwing a glare in Sakura's direction. "What is it, go ahead. Not that it'll really matter, as a teacher I won't…"

"Here you go." Sakura interrupted, holding up and towards Taiga a folded sheet of paper. Taiga bit back what she was going to say, the abrupt interruption grounding much of her temper, before she quickly grabbed the sheet of paper and began to quickly read it.

"What's that?" Shirou asked, rubbing at his neck.

"A letter from Kirei." Sakura answered. Shirou made to say something, but was preempted by Taiga.

"Your house collapsed?" she asked incredulously.

Sakura made a small sound of consternation. "What…no, of course not!" she said, scandalized. "Only a part of the roof caved-in on the second floor, the house is old after all, as in just after World War II old. It would have happened sooner or later, thankfully no one and nothing important was in the room when it did…"

Sakura trailed off as she realized she was rambling, and coughed to regain her composure. "Anyway," she continued. "The damage to the house needs to be fixed, and the rest of the house looked over for anything that could cause any more accidents like what just happened. In the meantime, I was planning on staying over at a hotel, but Emiya-sempai here found out…somehow…"

Sakura paused and thought it over for a few moments, and then shrugged before throwing a smile at Shirou. "The rumor mill, I guess." She said, and Shirou laughed nervously while rubbing at the back of his neck.

"Oh…so Shirou pays attention to rumors too, does he?" Taiga remarked before turning back to Sakura. "And? Shirou found out and then what?"

Sakura shrugged again. "He said it was inappropriate for a student to live in a hotel for a…lengthy, period of time." She said. "He then offered me to board in his house."

"Hmm…" Taiga hummed, clearly no longer angry, and crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, that does sound like Shirou alright, and he does have a point when he said it was inappropriate for a student to live in a hotel, no matter the circumstances. Even so though, this seems rather suspicious, even with this letter and all…"

"Kirei put his contact number in the letter." Sakura added cheerfully. "You can check whenever it's convenient, sensei."

Taiga made a face, and then sighed. "I might…later…" she muttered. "But anyway, it's still inappropriate for a young man and woman to live unchaperoned in a house, especially when they're still minors at your age!"

Sakura blinked, and this time it was her turn to frown. "Hey now, sensei," she said. "I'm not that kind of girl, and you know that. And also, Emiya-sempai's quite the gentleman. Sure, the snobs and others at school might look down on him for it, along with his other traits, but I'm sure there's plenty of proof about his character and that I can trust him to respect me as his guest."

"Well yes, that's true." Taiga admitted after a moment. "More students could be like you among others, and I – and his father before he died – made sure to raise Shirou to be a proper and respectable member of society."

"Then there should be no problems with me boarding here until my house is fixed, is there, sensei?" Sakura asked with a grin. "If it makes you feel better, I've offered to help out in household chores during my stay here, and of course, to contribute as I'm willing to the household expenses."

"Hmm…" Taiga began humming to herself as she thought it over, and after a few moments began to sway back and forth where she sat. Sakura blinked and glanced quizzically at Shirou who just shrugged at her. "…oh fine already…as you said, you're not that kind of girl, and Shirou's a responsible young man. I'll still have to check with your guardian, but given you're a responsible young woman yourself I'm sure it's just something that needs to be done."

Sakura smiled and bowed low. "Thank you for your understanding, sensei." She said, speaking unusually formally. "Rest assured, I understand your concerns, both as a teacher and as sempai's guardian."

Taiga nodded, her opinion and mood greatly improved by such a display of humility. "Alright, alright," she said. "That's good to hear…better than most kids these days…"

Sakura grinned at Shirou who smiled back at her, while Taiga glanced over at Rin. "Hey, Rin-chan," She said. "Do you need any help there? If you do…"

Rin paused cutting a carrot, and slowly turned her head to face the gathering at the table with a smile. "Hmm, what?" she asked, knife held firmly in one hand.

"Uh…it's nothing…"

"Alright then."

Taiga sat shell-shocked in place for a moment longer, and then turned to the perturbed Shirou and Sakura. "What was that all about?" she asked softly.

Shirou and Sakura traded glances, and then shrugged.

"Your guess is as good as ours, Fuji-nee."

* * *

"You're not going to be staying over like last night?" Shirou asked more than a bit shrewdly.

Taiga rolled her eyes, and then grinning, reached forward to ruffle a surprised Shirou's hair. "I trust Sakura-chan, and as I said this morning, we've managed to come to an understanding with Saber-san." She said. "As for you, well I'm pretty sure your dad and I managed to raise you properly…and that you know what's coming to you if you make Sakura-chan cry."

"Hey, Fuji-nee, I'm not…!"

Taiga laughed, and patted Shirou on a shoulder, causing his outraged protests to quiet down. "I know." She said. "You're not like that. Even so I still had to say it. Anyway, we have to get going now, so good night."

"Yes, good night." Shirou said with a nod, and as Taiga turned away, Shirou turned to Rin.

"Emiya-kun…I…" she began only to trail off.

"Hmm?" Shirou hummed with a questioning note. "What's wrong?"

"No, it's nothing." Rin said with a sigh. "Anyway, good night, and take care."

"Huh?"

Rin didn't say anything, simply giving a nod at Shirou before following Taiga out of the house and then the property. Shirou scratched his head in confusion at what Rin was trying to tell him, and then shrugging, went to lock up for the night. That done, he went off to find his ally in the Holy Grail War.

He found her in her room, sitting on her bed, reviewing her notes from their classes earlier during the day. For a few moments, Shirou just stood in the open doorway, staring at the girl just sitting there, looking for all the world like just another ordinary girl doing as she should at the end of the day, and nothing like the magus that she really was.

The moments passed, and then blinking, Sakura noticed Shirou and smiled at him. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Shirou blinked and coughed. "No, it's nothing." He said. "Well, not really, you just…"

"I just what?"

Shirou gave a short laugh. "I was just thinking," he said, entering the room fully and closing the door behind him. "When I walked in and saw you like you were just now, you looked nothing like a magus, someone with knowledge of and power over the rules of the World, and just another ordinary girl at the end of the day."

Shirou laughed again, a bit hesitantly this time. "Sorry if I said too much." He said.

Sakura laughed too, and shook her head. "No, it's alright." She said. "That's the idea, after all."

"Huh?"

Sakura coughed. "No, it's nothing." She said, gesturing for him to sit at a nearby chair, which he did. "Anyway, more importantly, I guess you want to go out now and look for wherever Caster's doing their mischief and put a stop to it, don't you?"

Shirou nodded. "I want to too." Sakura admitted. "Unfortunately, we can't really tell when and where Caster might strike next. They usually target apartments and such, but there's no pattern to it that I can see, if there even is."

"Random attacks…?" Shirou asked softly, and Sakura nodded.

"It looks that way." She said. "And it's probably deliberate on Caster's part too, to keep enemies from finding where they might strike next, and lay a trap for them in advance."

"So what can we do?" Shirou asked.

"Unfortunately," Sakura said with a sigh. "We're stuck to reacting to Caster's attacks. We have to wait for one or another of my familiars over the city to report back if and where Caster attacks next, and respond. We won't be able to stop the attack from happening in the first place, but we can reduce how much damage Caster can do. At the very least, the victims won't have to stay hospitalized for too long."

Shirou nodded grimly, and sighed heavily. "I'm not too happy not being able to do more," he said. "But every little counts."

"Yes." Sakura agreed. Silence fell between them for several moments, and then Sakura leaned forward. "Also, there's one more thing I should have said during our talk earlier during our lunch."

"What is it?"

"It's about Berserker."

Shirou stiffened at the memory of the monstrous Servant that had nearly killed him and Saber, and would have killed Sakura afterward. Thankfully, the little girl who had been Berserker's Servant had somehow lost interest in continuing the battle after a certain point, and had retreated, and giving them a chance to retreat themselves.

With that said, it was clear that in the end, they'd been lucky in that battle.

"What about him?" Shirou finally asked.

"We should avoid engaging that monster and his Master at all costs." Sakura said. "Together, Archer and Saber should be capable of defeating Berserker, but it'll cost them. And individually…"

"They're no match." Shirou finished, and Sakura nodded.

"In a prolonged fight, I'd say yes." She said. "But they could probably stalemate him for a time, at least until they're worn down and Berserker simply overpowers them. Or they use Noble Phantasms, but let's try and avoid that as much as we can. Noble Phantasms cost a lot of prana to use, are rather flashy especially the more powerful ones, and can reveal identities."

"I see." Shirou agreed. And then he blinked in realization. "But, can Archer even use his Noble Phantasms right now?"

"Not sure, I'll ask."

" _I heard the question._ " Archer replied. " _In theory yes, but it's a pain in my current state, and not very advisable._ "

"He can." Sakura relayed to Shirou. "But apparently it's best he doesn't until he's fully recovered."

"I see. Thanks for the answer."

" _He says thanks for the answer._ "

" _Then give the proper response._ "

" _Smartass,_ " Sakura replied before relaying Archer's response, and causing Shirou to nod in acknowledgement.

"Saber though," he began. "Do you think she can defeat Berserker with her Noble Phantasm, whatever it is?"

"…I think she can." Sakura said after a moment's thought. "But it's probably for the best she doesn't."

"Why not?"

"As I said, using Noble Phantasms cost a lot of prana to use, and right now, you can't really support her." Sakura said. "What would you or we do if Saber uses her Noble Phantasm, and drains her reserves so much that she either gets crippled or worse, simply vanishes?"

"It's going to be a problem."

"Talk about understatement," Sakura said with a laugh. Shirou made as if to say something but thought better of it.

 _Not being able to properly support Saber is something I should fix, but, I don't really know how._

 _Sakura might know, but she's already working so hard trying to find wherever Caster is. I can't really dump more work on her, it'd be unreasonable._

 _It'll have to wait I guess, fixing my connection with Saber. Right now, we should focus on stopping Caster's attacks and eventually, even Caster as well. After everything they've done, I won't hesitate to say they can't be trusted with the Grail._

 _And after that…_

"…sempai…sempai…sempai…"

Shirou blinked, and then coughed. "Sorry about that!" he said loudly, clearly embarrassed. "I spaced out for a bit."

"I noticed." Sakura said with a cheeky grin, and Shirou laughed weakly. "My, my, first my Servant and now you, sempai, people keep spacing out around me, I wonder if I can't keep their attention."

"That's not it." Shirou said reassuringly, though he knew Sakura was just teasing. "I was just thinking, that's all."

"About what?"

"About Saber, and fixing my connection with her." Shirou said. "Though, that'll have to wait until later, when we have the time."

Sakura nodded, but didn't say anything for a couple of moments. "Anyway, moving on," she eventually said. "Seeing as we have a little time to ourselves and I did say I'd help bring your magecraft up to speed, you being an amateur and all…no offense…"

"It's alright." Shirou said with a reassuring smile. "It's true after all, despite all the effort my dad put into teaching me as much magic as he could."

"Oh?" Sakura asked with a clear touch of curiosity. "It sounds like there's a story there, but I wouldn't mind if you don't want to tell, family secrets and all."

Shirou waved her off. "It's nothing like that." He said. "It's just that, no matter how hard I tried and how many times dad explained how it should work, I could never get most spells to work. Actually, the only spells I can use are tracing and reinforcement."

Sakura blinked. "That's a rather…strange, limitation." She said. "And what's tracing?"

Shirou grinned and held out his hands. "Trace, on." He said, prana glowing between his hands as they coalesced and solidified into a physical object. At the sight, Sakura's eyes widened, and she half-rose to her feet. And then she blinked, fully getting up as she noticed something else, something that was just _off_ , and narrowed her eyes at Shirou.

Shirou didn't notice this, focused as he was on completing his spell. Finally, the light died, and Shirou held up a pot ladle with a grin. "Well, that's tracing." He said cheerfully. "The one spell I'm really good at."

Sakura regarded the ladle for a moment, and then turned back to Shirou. Shirou just stared curiously at Sakura as she crossed her arms over her chest, eyes closed in thought. Finally, after several moments, she opened her eyes.

"What were you doing?" Sakura finally asked.

Shirou blinked. "Tracing, it's my…" he began only for Sakura to interrupt.

"No, no," she said. "Before that, when you said your aria, what were you doing?"

"Opening my magic circuits, of course. How else can I use magic without opening them first?"

Sakura stared at Shirou, and Shirou stared back. And then Sakura sighed, and walking over to her chest opened it to ruffle through the things inside. Shirou politely stayed where he was until Sakura got up, closing the chest while holding what looked like a jewel in one hand. Shirou then blinked as he saw _shadows_ snaking over Sakura's arm to touch the gem, which flashed once before the shadows vanished.

 _What was that?_

"Here, swallow this." Sakura said, tossing the jewel to Shirou. He held it up.

"What's this?" he asked.

"It's an opal." Sakura replied, and Shirou stared at her incredulously.

"And you want me to swallow it?" he asked.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Yes." She replied. "Don't worry, it's perfectly safe. Once the spell stored inside the jewel is spent, the jewel will crumble into powder which will be washed out of the body when you…well, go to the bathroom. As for the spell itself…"

Sakura paused to sigh. "Before that, I'm going to say sorry first since this might offend you," she said. "But your dad was really irresponsible."

"What?"

"You weren't opening your magic circuits, you were somehow…altering, your nerves into makeshift magic circuits for use in magecraft." Sakura said.

"But, isn't that…"

"No, it isn't." Sakura interrupted with a shake of her head. "Magic circuits while connected to the nervous system are a separate…system, or network. More importantly, I don't know how you pulled that off, only that you're _really_ lucky you haven't suffered from nervous degeneration or worse from doing that for so long."

"I think…I see what you mean." Shirou said, looking rather sick. He'd been doing things wrong apparently, and had apparently risked frying his brain or crippling himself every time he did magic. Well, that was a risk – among others such as death – when it came to using magic, even when done properly, but still…

…to think he'd been doing things improperly for so long, and that he'd been risking his life more than he needed to…

…it was something that needed to be thought about.

"But what was that about dad being irresponsible?" Shirou asked.

"He was the one who taught you magecraft," Sakura said. "And somehow I get the feeling he wasn't an amateur like you, and was a proper magus. I doubt he was making the same mistake as you, and if he was a proper magus, he should have noticed and corrected what you were doing, since it seems you've been doing it wrong from the very beginning. So either he didn't notice, and he was really…unperceptive, or he didn't bother to correct you, which is very irresponsible."

"It's not that." Shirou answered quickly. "I see what you mean though, and yes, dad was a proper magus, it's just that…he was sick, you see. That's what killed him in the end, about seven or so years ago. So about what you said earlier, about dad not noticing my mistakes, yeah, I agree. But not because he was unperceptive or irresponsible, but…"

"…he was sick, and it was affecting his performance." Sakura finished, and Shirou nodded. Sakura sighed and gave an apologetic bow. "Sorry, I jumped to conclusions, and said some things I shouldn't about the dead and other people's relatives."

"No, it's alright." Shirou said with a small smile. "You didn't know about dad's circumstances, and made a wrong assumption because of it. But once you realized that, you owned up to it, so it's fine."

Sakura smiled and nodded, sitting back down on the bed before gesturing at the opal in Shirou's hand. "You should drink that, so the spell stored inside the gem can properly open your circuits." She said. "Every time you use magic afterwards, you just need to visualize a mental trigger which can open and close your magic circuits at will."

"I already know how to do the last bit, I just have to…practice, I guess, so I won't be wrecking my nerves every time I use my magic from here on." Shirou reassured Sakura, deciding to just go with her changing the topic of their discussion. "Alright, here we go."

"Brace yourself," Sakura said as Shirou swallowed the opal. "You might feel a bit dizzy afterwards."

"Got it." Shirou said, sitting in his seat after swallowing the jewel. For a few moments there was nothing, and then suddenly the world seemed to spin and lurch around him.

Sakura blinked as Shirou began to sway in his seat, and then she lunged forward to catch him as he fell forward, off the chair. There was a soft thud as Sakura fell back on the floor, her back against the side of the bed, Shirou lying slack against her. "Um," Sakura began, her cheeks pink as Shirou's head rested against her breasts. "Are you alright?"

"I don't feel so good." Shirou mumbled, eyes heavy and unfocused. "It feels very warm…and soft…"

Sakura sighed. " _Well,_ " she thought to herself. " _It's not like it was deliberate so…it's alright, isn't it? I mean, he's just resting against me, there's nothing malicious about it, is there?_ "

"Alright," Sakura said aloud. "You just lie there and rest until your body's back to normal."

"Yes, yes."

* * *

"What happened?"

Rin glanced at Rider as they met up at the rendezvous point. She didn't say anything, and after several moments of silence and those amethyst eyes staring at her Rider shrugged. "I was just curious, that's all." She said. "You don't seem to be in a very good mood. Though as I recall, you were quite relaxed earlier when we were at the market and just before we parted…"

Rider trailed off as Rin walked away, towards a tree standing in one corner of the playground that was their rendezvous point. It was an evergreen, and so despite the season, leaves still hung dark and heavy on the tree.

And then behind her visor, Rider's eyes widened as Rin punched the trunk hard enough to cause the lowermost leaves to rustle. "One after another," she snarled. "My family…my innocence…my dignity…and now my sanctuary and maybe even my heart…just how much more will that girl's existence take from me? My life…? My triumph…? If only she'd never been born!"

Rin's eyes widened in realization of what she'd just said, and she staggered back a couple of steps. Strangled chuckles forced their way out of her throat, and then slowly but steadily, the laughter built, and Rin nearly doubled-over laughing, high-pitched and not completely sane, the girl covering her eyes as she took darkly-comic amusement at what she had become.

Abruptly the laughter stopped, Rin gasping hard before she clenched her fists, and forced herself upright. "I…I've become like them…like _him_." She whispered, sadly looking up at the cloudy skies of winter. "It's inevitable, I suppose…the core concept of the Matou is absorption…and _I_ am the greatest magus _they_ have ever produced."

Rin laughed some more before whirling on Rider with a frantic expression on her face and a strange light in her eyes. Something about that was unsettling even for Rider, who took a step back. Finally, Rin took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a few moments, and when she opened them, the madness had gone, replaced by iron control once more.

"By the power of the command spell," Rin began to Rider's surprise, one of Rin's command spells flaring before vanishing. "Heal yourself, Rider!"

A magic circle flashed to life around Rider's feet, and with a powerful burst of wind and a blinding flash of light, Rider felt the lingering injuries and debilitation from her recent battle with Lancer vanish. "Off to stake your claim?" Rider asked with a grin.

"Not yet," Rin replied to Rider's surprise. "We'll wait until Archer has fully recovered. That way, we can take out two birds with one stone. Well, we can still do that now, but…you won't be satisfied with killing a cripple, would you?"

Rider shrugged but gave an echo of agreement through their link. "No, I don't." she said.

Rin nodded, and as Rider vanished into astral form, walked out into the night.

 _It's better this way._

 _Because I fell into the darkness, she remains pure and noble._

 _So, won't you return the favor, my dear, sweet, little sister…_

 _…and end the nightmare?_

* * *

A/N

Familiar settings, but different dialogue to account for the changes in the characters. Some things never change though, like Rin still terrifying people with a smile, and the sibling sacrificed to the Matou may be unbroken but definitely not unaffected/undamaged/unchanged by what's been done to them.


	13. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Transposition

Chapter 12

 _Rain fell from a leaden sky, pouring heavily down on burning ruins. Steam hissed as the rain fell, water evaporating as it struck searing-hot stone and metal, flames spluttering as the water soaked into their fuel and drowned them into inactivity._

 _Smoke rose in grey columns as the fires died down, and then subsided themselves as smoldering fuel was doused and cooled by the rain. A boy stumbled through the ruins, his clothes singed and blackened, burns dotting patches of exposed skin, his eyes and face alike blank from his experiences._

 _Coming to a halt, the boy stared blankly ahead of him for a moment, and with a weak whimper collapsed, crumpling backward to fall with a muddy splash on the ground. He lay silent, breathing weakly as he stared up at the leaden sky, uncaring of the rainfall on and around him, and splashing into the blackened ground._

 _Slowly, the boy closed his eyes, his breathing growing weaker, finally allowing himself to give way to the temptation to just let it go. He felt the rain continuing to fall on and around him, the cooling air and the muddy ground stealing the warmth from his body, but it didn't matter anymore. All that was left was to wait for death to come for him in his turn._

 _For a long time, there was only the sound of the falling rain and the growing coldness, but then there came a new sound. Slow, heavy footsteps, splashing softly on the muddy ground, coming closer and closer with every step. Despite having decided to accept his fate, the boy weakly opened his eyes as the footsteps came to a halt beside him, and beheld the empty-eyed visage of a man with dark eyes and hair staring down at him._

 _Mud splashed as the man fell to his knees, tears and rainwater mixing on his face, twisted with a desperate smile. It was the smile of someone who'd found what he was looking for, the smile of someone who'd suffered so much and was finally being saved from his torment._

 _Slowly, the boy closed his eyes again. He barely registered the man's movements, the warmth spreading slowly through his body, the pain and the weakness draining away, and the man pulling him into a crushing embrace._

 _As darkness fell across his sight, something glimmered in the dark, a long and vaguely-defined form that shone as though of light flashing off polished metal, with shades of silver, gold, and blue…_

 _…what was it?_

 _Slowly, surely, the form began to grow clear, but then suddenly it blurred, the light fading into the darkness as a voice intruded into his consciousness._

"…sempai…sempai…please wake up, sempai…"

Slowly, but surely, Shirou blinked awake, noting his head lying in something soft yet firm, warm and comfortable, and turned to lie on his back as he felt a hand on his arm lift away. As he did so, Sakura's smiling face came into view above. "Welcome back." She said.

With a yelp, Shirou sprang away, realizing that his head had been lying on Sakura's lap, and more than that, he'd fallen asleep in it. And then he remembered falling on her _breasts_ during his initial bout of dizziness, causing Shirou's cheeks to turn pink.

"Sorry!" he said, bowing formally with head pressed to the ground, and to a stunned Sakura's complete mortification. "Really, _really_ sorry! That was very inappropriate, falling asleep in your lap, especially since we're not in a relationship or anything of that sort…not that it would be appropriate even if we were…though I'm not saying you're…no, I…that is…"

"S-stop it already…" Sakura stammered out, her cheeks even redder than Shirou's. "I didn't really mind, and there was nothing malicious to it so…um…"

"No, more than that…" Shirou said, still bowed. "Earlier I accidentally…touched your chest so…"

"Yes well…" Sakura said, now rather red-faced. "Just like sleeping in my lap, it wasn't malicious or anything, you just um…fell on me after you got dizzy, and I should have warned you earlier about the effects of opening your circuits for the first time, so…"

Sakura trailed off, and then looking away gave a cough as her face began to lighten. "Anyway," she said. "Can we just move on? We could do better with the time we spend over this so…please get up, sempai…"

Shirou looked up, and after seeing Sakura's embarrassed and uncomfortable expression got up into a sitting position, though he still couldn't quite look at her just yet. "Um…" he began hesitantly, scratching at his head. "So, what now?"

"My familiars have found Caster going for an residential building downtown, so I think we should get ready, don't you?"

The thought of Caster attacking more innocent people certainly caught Shirou's attention, drawing it from his earlier…inappropriate, actions, as did the idea of being able to do something about it. "Of course," he said with a nod, finally looking at her though keeping his eyes away. "If we can do something to help those people in any way we can, we should do it. And who knows? We might find a clue to where Caster is hiding, and if we can find them, then we can put an end to all these attacks."

Sakura nodded, and then paused. "Sempai?" she asked, and when Shirou still couldn't look her in the eyes reached out and hesitantly took his hand. Surprised, Shirou finally met her eyes causing Sakura to pull back her hand. "Um…I didn't really mind and you didn't really mean anything by it so…"

Sakura trailed off, looking as though she was struggling to find the right words, and then with a breath smiled at Shirou. "Can we go back to just like earlier?" she finally asked.

For a few moments Shirou silently considered the question, wondering whether they really could after he'd done something so…forward, one could put it, but looking at Sakura's smile, he sighed and nodded himself before returning the smile. "Start over, huh?" he asked. "Yeah, I think we can."

Sakura beamed. "Alright then," she said, getting up and helping Shirou up as well. "So…we should get ready to move out, and while I don't know about you I need to change so…"

"OH! Right, I see." Shirou exclaimed, coughing and rubbing the back of his head while smiling awkwardly. "Well, in that case, I'll leave you be."

Sakura nodded, and Shirou made to leave. But as he opened the door and took a step out, Sakura spoke up again. "Sempai," she began, and he looked back at her. "Don't let it get to you, alright?"

Shirou looked taken aback at that, but after a moment of fumbling again gave way at Sakura's smile and nodded. "I'll try." He said with a small smile, and she beamed at him. Shirou nodded again, and stepping out closed the doors behind him.

For a few moments he just stood there, and then with a sigh headed for his room. " _That was so embarrassing._ " He thought. " _And so inappropriate. True, I had an excuse or two for it all, but still…I shouldn't have done that. Thankfully, Sakura's a forgiving girl, despite being a magus and all._ "

Shirou smiled at the thought, and at the knowledge that she'd saved his life recently and was taking action and had shown….concern, at Caster's activities. " _She's a good person, no doubt about it._ " He thought. " _I'm sure she's got a few flaws I haven't seen yet, and probably more than a few secrets I might not completely agree with, but she's not bad._ "

Nodding to himself, Shirou picked up the pace to his room, and was about to enter when he sensed a presence behind him. Turning, he saw Archer standing in the Moonlight out in the yard, smiling in a strange, unsettling way at Shirou. He narrowed his eyes.

"Can I help you?" Shirou asked.

Archer snorted at that. "I really doubt that." He observed with a mocking tone, causing Shirou to narrow his eyes and turn to belligerently face the Servant.

"Relax," Archer said. "I didn't come here to pick a fight."

"Really?"

"Yes," Archer said with a smile. "If I wanted to fight, then you'd be dead already."

Shirou grit his teeth at that, something more than just the Servant's thinly-veiled insults just pissing him off. "What do you want, Archer?" Shirou demanded.

"Just to give an observation, and some advice."

"Oh?"

"You've managed to open your magic circuits, I see." Archer said, still smiling in that unsettling, no, almost _mocking_ , way, at Shirou. "How'd it go?"

"I don't see how it's any of your business."

Archer gave a bark of laughter at that. "Normally it isn't," he admitted. "But as Sakura seems to be interested in you, it is."

"Then go and ask her about it."

Archer laughed again. "Sakura doesn't understand, you see." he said. "Normal methods just won't work with you. For her sake, I'll only say this once so pay attention. In battle, you are absolutely useless. Nothing you can do can hope to stand up against a proper magus like Sakura, much less Servants like Berserker. The only thing you can do is imagine something that will let you not just stand against enemies like those, but also let you defeat them. And seeing that's the only thing you can do, I suggest you do more than make the best of it, and outright perfect it."

Archer smiled with amusement at the outright hostility Shirou could only respond with at the Servant's words. "What that girl sees in you, I have no idea." He said. "Still, if that's what she wants…"

Archer trailed off, and then with a shrug, vanished into astral form. Shirou continued to stand there for a few more moments, and then with a snort of his own, walked into his room, closing the door behind him.

He had to get ready to head out.

* * *

"So this is the place?" Shirou asked.

"Yup, Residential Complex 321b." Sakura replied. The girl had changed into something you wouldn't normally associate as something most magi would wear, not that Shirou could say he was part of the norm, with his blue and white short-sleeved shirt and blue jeans. In that light, Shirou wasn't too different from his partner with her pink-striped white, short-sleeved shirt and dark-coloured vest and jeans.

Well, the vest had enough pocket room for gemstones and like, he supposed.

"Not a particularly homely name, is it, sempai?" Sakura asked.

"No, that it isn't, Sakura." Shirou agreed. "It is mass housing, after all. With that said, it shouldn't have to reflect on the people who live here."

"Agreed," Sakura said before taking the lead into the complex. "Shall we?"

"Wait," Shirou began with a note of caution, moving to follow Sakura's lead. "Is it really alright to just go…!"

Shirou abruptly broke off as he stepped over the complex's threshold, his chest seeming to squeeze tight and the atmosphere around him thicken and grow cloying, almost like caramel really, and very hard to breathe in. At the same time, a familiar heat ignited in his body as his magic circuits came to life, struggling to fend off the supernatural assault on his body.

"You alright?" Sakura asked, quickly coming over.

"I'm fine." Shirou said, waving her off, belatedly realizing he was tense and sweating, and all in just a moment too. The strange sensation was wearing off now, but the heat of his circuits was still there. "A bounded field?"

Sakura nodded. "I'm not too sure how it works," she said. "But I can tell it's connected to how Caster gets energy from her victims. And, though I'm not too sure of this, it probably also keeps most people away while it's active."

"I see."

Sakura glanced at Shirou and smiled weakly. "Rather sensitive to it, aren't you?" she asked teasingly.

"Well sorry for that."

Sakura giggled, and despite himself Shirou smiled weakly at her attempt to keep spirits up in the current situation. The smiles and laughter ended soon though, as they all sensed the coming of hostiles. Eyes turned across the open space between the outer wall of the complex and the main building itself, and focused on strange, skeletal things holding sword-like weapons in their hands.

They walked slowly if steadily, making strange noises as they approached, Saber and the Masters tensing at the sight. "So many…" Shirou said.

"Familiars, probably," Sakura said. "They shouldn't be too tough then, but with Caster you never know. And of course, there are a lot of them."

Abruptly the advancing familiars stopped, and the Masters stared in surprise. And then with strange, hollow-sounding howls, the familiars charged, swords held high.

Saber was the first to attack, the blonde girl charging in as a blur of gold and blue. Swinging her sword in great arcs almost like a farmer harvesting wheat, she took down multiple familiars in one swing, which coupled with her speed allowed her to decimate the attacking familiars in but a few moments, leaving piles of broken, bone-like material behind her.

But there were so many of them, enough that while most rushed at Saber to tie her down, enough were left to plug the gap behind Saber and between her and the Masters, and to rush the latter. Sakura was the first to respond, her family's crest glowing visibly on her arm as she raised it, index finger pointing out, Finn shots lashing out at high speed to blow familiars apart.

Shirou looked around as Sakura opened fire, stemming the tide but as more enemy familiars arrived he could see it wouldn't be enough. " _I need a weapon, something I can use!_ " he thought, and cursing that he'd left home without one.

 _Even if we didn't see **this** coming, I knew we were in for a fight. I should have brought something!_

After looking around a few times, Shirou spotted a long broom standing next to the wall a good distance away. " _That'll do!_ " Shirou thought as he ran for it.

"Sempai!" Sakura shouted after him but couldn't follow without letting up her weight of fire. But even then, they were steadily getting closer with every passing moment.

Shirou for his part just ran, and reaching the broom grabbed it. Breaking the head off with a kick, he closed his eyes, his magic circuits fortunately already open thanks to his passing through the bounded field earlier. Still, it was different from what he was used to, making it equally feeling awkward as easier to perform magic.

"Trace, on." He murmured, not seeing with his eyes closed as the stick he held in his hand turned into solid steel.

Opening his eyes, he briefly smiled down at the steel rod he was now holding, but the sounds of familiars close behind him quickly had him turning. He'd scarcely done so, when an explosion erupted nearby, buffeting him and blowing Caster's familiars to dust.

Sakura, seeing the familiars closing in on Shirou while he was casting a spell, growled, and despite knowing it would let up the volume of fire, pulled a red garnet from one of her vest pockets, and threw it flashing like a strobe at the familiars closing on Shirou's back.

Other familiars now tried to rush her, but Sakura just tossed more gems at them. A trio of red garnets, and a zircon had explosions pluming orange fire and broken familiars into the night, but more familiars leaped through and at Sakura, swords swinging.

Sakura jumped back, flipping once with her hands before landing in a _bajiquan_ stance, magic circuits flashing as she reinforced her body. A raised arm caught a familiar's arm before a punch broke it apart, her elbow jabbing sideways to break another familiar to pieces.

And then simultaneously ducking down and sliding a step back, two elbow jabs backward simultaneously destroyed two familiars. Leaping forward a short distance, she punched another familiar to pieces followed by two sideways elbows jabs, a backward jab, and another punch with a sweeping low kick and two sweeps of her arms to open up the space around her.

The familiars quickly filled it up, but a pair of rock crystals threw them back in pieces with a powerful blast of wind. Shirou meanwhile was using what _kendo_ skills he had to fight his way towards Sakura, literally chopping down a path in front of him with either powerful overhead blows or wide sweeps.

Sakura's blast of wind cleared up his way, and he quickly ran up to her. "Is there no end to this?" he asked.

A feminine shout of rage drew their attention, and then broken familiars rained down as Saber also cut a path back to the Masters. "My apologies," she said as she took a protective stance in front of them. "I underestimated the enemy's numbers, and as a result my charge only left you to fend for yourselves. It won't happen again."

"Its fine, we're still here so…" Sakura said, only to trail off. Around them the familiars stared emptily at them, before slowly beginning to advance again. "At this rate…"

"We can't give up!" Shirou snarled. "There are people in there!"

"I know!" Sakura said, looking very grim herself. "Well, there's something I could try…"

"Now would be a really good time to try then."

Sakura smiled tightly at that. "To be effective," she began. "I'm going to have to be on top of the building."

"No way," Shirou breathed while looking up. "Damn it, we have no choice. We'll have to get through these things first, but we have to…"

"No need to get through these things," Archer said, suddenly appearing. "I might not be able to fight, but I can get you there. Thing is, how long will it take to cast your spell?"

"It's a five-count, and I've never tried it outside of laboratory conditions before."

"Great…"

"But it might work?" Shirou asked, looking at Sakura intensely. The girl blinked.

"It _might_." She said, and Shirou nodded.

"Then let's give it a go." He said, prompting Sakura and Archer to stare at each other. After a moment the former nodded, and the latter sighed in response.

"Alright," Archer said. "Saber, can you open up a path?"

The blonde nodded. "Please step back." She said, and they did so. A powerful breeze then kicked up, and nearly invisible to the eye Saber charged forward, her sword swinging wide. A blast of wind with the intensity of a gale erupted from the swing, reducing nearly the entirety of the familiars to dust in an instant, even as Saber came to a halt near the building entrance.

"Shirou, go!" Sakura said as she grabbed Archer's offered arm. "Get to Saber!"

Shirou nodded, and ran down the path towards Saber, the remaining familiars closing from either side, Saber in the distance easily dealing with those coming from the building, bottlenecked as they were by the doors. In contrast, Archer and Sakura reached the middle of the path in one leap, and then with another they were on the building itself, a dull red star streaking up its side.

" _Good luck, Sakura._ " Shirou thought as he bashed a few familiars that tried to get in his way to pieces, before finally joining Saber at the doors. " _I'll believe in you to end this battle so we can finally start helping the people inside._ "

* * *

Archer and Sakura disengaged from each other as they landed on the rooftop, Archer immediately grabbing a nearby bench and using it to barricade the door. Placing a hand against the wood, it took only a moment to reinforce both the door and the bench alike.

"So," he began. "What does this does spell of yours do anyway?"

"It rots enemy mysteries apart."

"…what?"

"You heard me." Sakura said, pulling gems from her pockets and stuffing them into her mouth swallowed them one after another. A ruby and a pair of diamonds, followed by a jasper and an emerald: that had Archer raising an eyebrow.

 _I know it's a five-count, but does it really need that much prana? Rin could pull off spells with the effect of a ten-count or greater with a single gem. Then again…_

 _…I'm still not sure how you're able to use elemental magecraft in the first place. Did your father or Kirei have you altered? Or perhaps, you are the Average One in this timeline, and Rin has the Imaginary Numbers?_

 _But if so, then…_

Archer's musings came to a halt, as Sakura's shadow swirled and then morphed into a magic circle beneath her feet. " _So you still have Imaginary Numbers, I see._ " Archer thought. " _I guess it's safe to assume Rin is the Average One. But it still doesn't answer how you're able to use elemental magecraft._ "

Archer narrowed his eyes. " _Were you altered?_ " he thought. " _Or did you find another way to get around the limitation? Either way, it would explain how inefficient your mysteries seem to be, as going around would require more effort and prana than normal._ "

"How do you plan to do that?" he asked.

"Not talking about the 'how' where anyone can see." Sakura replied, holding out her arms straight in opposite directions.

"Fair enough," Archer conceded, watching as shadows streaked out in four directions from where Sakura was standing in the middle of the roof. Hurrying over to the edge, he looked down and saw the shadows flickering down the four corners of the building, across the grounds, and outlining the edges of the complex in flickering walls of darkness. Archer smiled in realization.

 _So that's why you need a lot of prana. Certainly, without being connected to the Grail, having Angra Mainyu's curse, and Matou absorption magecraft, you can't affect the physical with your shadows. But you don't need to, do you?_

 _All you need here is to define the area of effect, and shadows can do that just fine. After all, spells aren't really physical, even if their effects are, are they?_

The sounds of beating at the door had Archer rushing over to brace the barricade, but a glance at Sakura showed her holding four gems in each hand, one between each finger. A duo of opals, an emerald, and a moonstone in one hand, and what looked like rock crystals of various colours in the other.

 _Water and air? Those are the elements you need to 'rot' a spell?_

" _Asche zu Asche,_ " Sakura cast, shadows seeming to drip in thin strands between her gems to the circle below, the former flashing like strobes between her fingers. " _Staub zu Staub, aus Staub den wir machen, zu Staub wir zurückkehren, so ist der Kuß der Sterblichkeit._ "

The gems between Sakura's fingers flashed bright, and then they shattered, her shadows flaring in response. Unseen either by her or Archer, across the grounds below or in the building inside, Dragon Tooth Warriors – Caster's familiars – literally fell apart as their mysteries were undone, and Shirou below felt the air grow lighter as the bounded field collapsed.

"Well, what do you know?" Sakura asked with a grin, blood flowing from her nose. "It actually worked."

And then coughing up blood, she collapsed on the ground, Archer rushing to her with a shout of alarm.

"Sakura!"

* * *

In her hiding place, Caster observed the people who'd interfered in one of her prana collection operations across the city, watching their actions through a glowing sphere of magic. It was the only real source of light in the room she was in, and even then it left her and her Master still partly obscured by the darkness.

"Interesting magic, isn't it?" Caster asked.

"I wouldn't know." Her Master replied. "I'm not a magus, as you well know, so I cannot really tell. But, just from seeing the toll that girl's spell cost her body, it's not nearly as impressive as it seems."

"Certainly," Caster said. "That is so. It would have suited her better to use a ten-count aria to invoke the mystery, which could have used the refinement. As it is right now, the spell while having an impressive effect, is rather inefficient."

"I see."

"However," Caster continued with an amused smile. "This girl is rather resourceful. I have my suspicions as to why she's transmuting elements, but still, even if it is rather crude and childish at present, the mystery is well made for her level."

"Will it pose a problem?"

"Not really, no." Caster replied. "It is simply worth commenting on, at an academic level."

"If you say so," Her Master said. "More importantly however, what do you plan to do regarding this and future interference by Archer and Saber's Masters in our plans?"

"Nothing," Caster said. "Let the children play if they want to play. A few disrupted operations per night is of little real meaning in the grand scheme of things, and we'd be better served keeping a wary eye on that little doll and her pet Berserker, as well as that treacherous priest and his Lancer."

"I see."

"Still," Caster continued with a smile. "If the children do poke their noses where they don't belong, we should discipline them appropriately. And we have the means to do so, do we not, Souichirou-sama?"

"Certainly, that is so."

Caster just kept on smiling, even as she watched Archer fuss over his Master as she healed herself.

* * *

A/N

Translation for Sakura's spell: Ash to ash, dust to dust, from dust we are made, to dust we shall return, such is mortality's kiss.

Now before you say I'm wanking Sakura by having Caster be impressed by her, do note that Caster was canonically impressed – for a given value of impressed given she is _Medea_ after all – by the power of Rin's gems. And as Caster herself mentioned, it's purely academic and implicitly, akin to a true master watching a young novice performing better than expected but still a novice for all that.


	14. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Transposition

Chapter 13

Sakura ran into the corridor, only to promptly stagger at the sight and scents that met her. Indeed, if not for Archer bracing her, she'd probably have fallen.

All the way down the corridor, doors leading into residential units hung hastily-opened, bodies littering the ground where they fell. The air stank of a strange mix of ozone and iron, from magic and prana, and together with the bodies of the floor's residents gave the impression of a massacre. All that was missing were the bloodstains…

…now if only her imagination was less active.

"Are you alright?" Archer asked.

Sakura didn't answer at once, gagging and struggling to breathe. The prana – no doubt leached from the residents by Caster's magecraft – saturating the air was not helping at all, making it seem as though plenty of blood had been spilled.

"Don't push yourself." Archer added, and would probably have said more had Shirou not shouted from further down the corridor, the boy having run on ahead in alarm while Sakura struggled to keep her composure.

"Sakura, they're still alive!" he shouted, and the girl blinked and swallowed heavily.

"Y-y-yeah…" she said, pulling herself free of Archer and shakily running over to Shirou. Sinking down to her knees beside the older boy and the unconscious victim on the ground, she held out shaking hands to begin patting the latter down.

"Your hands are shaking." Shirou said with a note of worry. "Are you sure you're up to this?"

"I…I think I am." Sakura said with another swallow. "It doesn't matter. We have to help these people, so…"

To Sakura's surprise, Shirou took her hands and held them tightly. "Calm down," he said, leaning in close and meeting her eyes. In the gloom of the corridor, he couldn't see the automatic flushing of her cheeks at how close he was, not that she realized it herself. Instead, she just focused on Shirou's golden eyes, unflinching and resolute despite the atmosphere of death around them. "Take deep breaths, and just focus on what you need to do. No one died, and we, no, _you_ managed to take down Caster's spells. So you can take your time helping these people. And don't worry: me, Archer, and Saber have your back."

Shirou offered her a smile, and after a moment Sakura nodded, and took a few deep breaths. And then nodding and smiling back, she pulled her hands free of Shirou's own, and turned back to the victim on the ground.

Hands no longer shaking, Sakura patted down the victim's body as Shirou looked on, and after a few moments pulled out a jewel. Raising it, she was about to cast a spell when she hesitated. "What's wrong?" Shirou asked.

Sakura didn't answer at once, instead looking down the hallway at the other unconscious victims lying around. "Healing them one by one is going to take too long and would waste a lot of prana." She eventually said.

Shirou blinked and lowered his face slightly. "So," he said. "What do you plan to do?"

Sakura again didn't answer at once, instead crossing her arms in thought. "I should be able to restore their vitality or at least some of it so as to remove the risk of them dying…" she eventually said.

"Can you handle it?" Shirou asked with evident concern. "Archer did say you almost collapsed earlier from that spell of yours."

"I have to try at least." Sakura said. "I'll have to be more precise, and I think I can do it…"

"…something you haven't done outside of a laboratory before either, huh?"

" _Actually…I came up with this on the fly but…_ " Sakura thought, but didn't say aloud. Instead, she just nodded. Shirou sighed before looking around himself. Sakura did likewise, and took a deep breath to try and keep her composure at the sight of the bodies of the victims, all the while struggling to ignore the stink and taste of iron in the air she was inhaling.

"Well, the spells you used earlier worked, so I guess I can trust in your confidence this time around again." Shirou eventually said with a sigh as he looked back at her. "And I imagine you don't have that many gems to help these people one by one, do you?"

Sakura smiled weakly while lowering her head. Shirou sighed and nodded. "Alright," he said. "Let's do it. Do you need any help?"

"Yes," Sakura said with a nod. "Can you go and count how many people there are on this floor? Check inside the rooms too."

Shirou nodded. "Right," he said before running off. Sakura sank to her knees, and pulled out a stick of iron-infused chalk to write with, followed by a ruby, and a pair of jade beads. Behind her, Archer and Saber looked on warily, and a few minutes later Shirou came back. "Twenty-one people," he said. "That's how many people I counted."

"Got it," Sakura said with a nod, already drawing her magic circle. "Fortunately, when we knocked out Caster's bounded field, any prana not yet drawn to their hideout was released into the environment. This way, I only need to use my prana to start the spell, and part of the prana in the air to maintain it while guiding the rest back to the victims."

Shirou nodded. "That will help, won't it?" he asked.

"They'll be tired and groggy when they wake up," Sakura said, glancing at Shirou. "But it won't be as bad otherwise. And none of them should be in any risk of dying."

Shirou smiled and nodded, and Sakura returned to her work. Once the magic circle had been drawn, she placed five addition jewels – two emeralds, an opal, and a pair of moonstones – around the circle while holding the three jewels from earlier in one hand between her fingers. The other hand she placed on the circle.

"Here we go," she said, opening her circuits with the mental image of a bunch of sticks breaking in half. Prana flooded her circuits with a familiar heat, jewels glowing while shadows outlined the lines and symbols on her circle before running out in flowing lines of darkness to touch every last victim on the floor. " _Ein roter, ein grüner, fünf blauer, Blütenblätter tanzen im Wind, die Hexe zieht dan Netz, Blütenblätter sammeln sich an alle Kinder, fünf blaue, eine grüne, eine rote._ "

The jewels flashed and then shattered, the shadows surging as the stink of iron in the air all but vanished. A moment later and the shadows likewise dispersed, the air lightening from both the spell reaching its conclusion and the loss of the ambient prana. "Did it work?" Shirou asked.

Sakura immediately turned back to the first victim, and after a couple of moments of examination she nodded at Shirou. "He's still unconscious," she said. "But he's not as badly off as earlier."

Shirou smiled warmly, kneeling down and patting Sakura on a shoulder. "Good work, Sakura." He said, causing her chest to grow really light at his praise. "Still, there are more people here we need to help."

Sakura nodded in agreement and smiled back at Shirou. "Yes," she said, getting to her feet. "We should get moving."

Shirou nodded, and with a nod at their Servants moved on to the next floor. But even as they did so, a belated realization struck Sakura, as she thought back to earlier. Specifically, at how Shirou didn't seem affected at all by the stink of blood filling the air, or the sight of bodies littering the ground.

 _Could it have been just sheer nerve or determination?_

 _Or…_

… _is it something else?_

 _Sempai…_

* * *

"Are you alright?"

"…I can manage."

Shirou didn't say anything for a while, just focusing on helping Sakura along. They'd finished going through the ten floors of Residential Complex 321b, and helping the residents who'd been victimized by Caster within.

By the end of it all though, Sakura was tottering on her feet, breathing hard and sweating a cold sweat. A glance to the side showed her crest glowing fitfully, the inherited magic circuits of previous generations of Tohsaka magi being used not to augment and stabilize spells as they were usually meant to do, but to bolster their inheritor's faltering body.

Behind the two Masters, Saber and Archer followed at a respectful distance. The two Servants were like night and day, one tall and dark and brooding in black and red, while the other was short but resplendent in silver and blue. Both wore similar expressions of neutrality, but in their eyes could clearly be seen worry and concern for Sakura.

Finally, they managed to reach the top of the staircase leading to the roof, and Shirou nodded encouragingly as he led Sakura out into the open. A breeze had kicked up, cool and crisp, and Shirou smiled to himself as Sakura, after briefly shivering at the cold wind's touch, seemed to perk up at the fresh air.

"Better…?" he asked after a few minutes.

"…somewhat…" Sakura replied, before taking a deep breath. Relinquishing her grip on Shirou's arm, she took a step forward before her vision seemed to swim, and nearly fell had Shirou not caught her.

"Alright, come on, don't push yourself."

"I'm fine…"

"No, you're not." Shirou interrupted. Blinking once, he placed a hand against her forehead, and narrowed his eyes in concern. "Definitely not – you're burning up, Sakura."

To Shirou's alarm, Sakura automatically reached for one of her vest pockets. "That's something I can…" she began, only to blink and stare as Shirou gently but firmly caught her by wrist.

"No, Sakura." He said with a shake of his head. "I mean, I'm an amateur magus, but even I know that using magic puts a strain on the body, and the more complex the spell, the greater the strain. You've been using five and ten-counts all night long, and now you're using your crest just to keep you standing. No more magic tonight, even if it's to…well, heal your condition or something. In fact, seeing as you're the way you are now from doing too much magic, I'll say using healing magic on yourself would probably have the opposite effect you're looking for."

Sakura stared at Shirou's resolute face for a few moments, and then she sighed. "If I don't do this," she began. "If I can't manage this much, then we won't be able to stop any more attacks tonight."

"Hmm…" Shirou hummed unhappily, and after several moments sighed. "Yeah, I know. But, think about it. Saber and I could take on Caster's familiars easily enough, but we can't really do anything about their magic. And we certainly can't help the people they've attacked, at least not directly. Only you can. If you completely burn yourself out tonight, then we won't be able to help anyone for who knows how long. But, if we stop now, go home and rest and recover, well…not only can you recover for tomorrow, but you can use what you learned tonight to improve your spells, and well, not wear yourself out as much as you did tonight."

Sakura stared at Shirou with an unreadable expression on her face, while behind them, unnoticed by either Master or by Saber, Archer had an eyebrow raised in surprise and curiosity. This was something…unexpected, in more ways than one.

Finally, Sakura smiled weakly and briefly looked away. "Long-term planning, is it?" she asked.

"Well, I guess you could call it that." Shirou said, and Sakura nodded slowly.

"You're probably right." She said. "So, we're going home?"

Shirou nodded, and then blinking as a thought occurred to him briefly led Sakura over to the railing to lean on. And then to her surprise, he turned his back and crouched down. "Come on, I'll carry you." He said.

"W-what are you saying?" Sakura said, her cheeks ablaze. "That's so…"

Shirou laughed and smiled over a shoulder. "It's fine." He said. "I don't mind. And if you're worried for some reason that someone might see, well, it's late, and I doubt anyone we know is out like we are, so…"

Shirou trailed off and shrugged. "Come on," he said. "You're worn out, so it'll be better if I carry you. It's not that I think you can't walk on your own, it's just that it'll be less of a strain if you don't."

"But…"

Shirou didn't say anything more, just smiling at Sakura over his shoulder. Finally, after several moments of fidgeting, Sakura sighed and gave in. Carefully stepping up to and getting on Shirou's back, she wrapped his arms around his neck while he braced her legs against him behind her knees, Shirou noting with approval that Sakura had turned her crest off.

With a small grunt of exertion, Shirou got up, and after a moment fixing his balance, glanced sideways at Sakura. "All set?" he asked, and she nodded silently. "Alright, let's go."

Sakura nodded again, before gingerly resting her chin against Shirou's shoulder. " _This is going too fast!_ " she thought to herself. " _I mean…I don't mind…I really don't…this is just…I've always…but still…_ "

"Come to think of it," Shirou began as they made their way back down the stairs. "Earlier, you called me by name didn't you?"

"Eh?" Sakura started, jolted out of her flustered thoughts. "I…when did…?"

Shirou chuckled. "After Saber blasted through those familiars on the ground," he said. "And before you and Archer went to the roof. You told me to get to Saber, and called me by name."

 _Shirou, go! Get to Saber!_

Sakura's face flowered in a deep blush, and she briefly looked away before turning back to Shirou, though she kept her eyes from his. "S-s-sorry…" she stammered out. "T-that was really rude of me, and I…"

Shirou chuckled again. "It's fine." She said. "You let me call you by your first name, don't you? I mean, yeah, only recently, but still: if you let me call you by your name, I can't really stop you from doing the same for me, right?"

"That's…I…I'm your underclassman, so…"

Shirou snorted. "And you're my senior in magecraft," he pointed out with a smile. "I'd say it evens out, so it's not really a problem no matter how I look at it."

"…"

Shirou sighed and nodded. "Well, I understand if you're uncomfortable with it." He said. "So I won't force you. But, if you ever get comfortable enough to call me by name, it's alright."

Sakura nodded in silence, and sharing a smile between them Shirou adjusted his grip and continued to walk on, Sakura carried on his back.

 _He's so kind…kind and warm…but…because he's like that…can I…can I really…_

* * *

Rider followed her Master with a disinterested air, the two of them strolling down the darkened corridors and up shadowed staircases at a relaxed pace. The humming of insect wings droned in the background, and despite her disgust for the school of magic practiced by her Master's family, she had to admit it was…effective.

Caster had had plenty of familiars in the residential complex she'd attacked, enough to have overrun Rider and attack her Master directly while Rider was tied down dealing with the skeletal constructs. They might have been weak and pathetic things, their weapons not even close to capable of piercing her armor much less actually hurting her, but there were many of them, enough to at least get in her way.

That had been quite annoying actually.

Had they been beings of flesh and blood, the carnage Rider would have wreaked as she tore through their ranks would have been glorious. But as it was, all they did was break like dry wood or crumble to dust, rendering what could have been an enjoyable exercise of arms into an annoying chore.

As for her Master…well, Caster certainly had had lots of familiars. Rin however, had had more. Blade Wing Worms she called them, creatures which resembled locusts with oversized fangs. Individually they were weak, but in the swarms Rin unleashed them in they overwhelmed Caster's constructs and drained them of their prana.

From there, they swept into the building, ignoring Caster's victims to focus on destroying those of Caster's constructs inside, and allowing Rider and Rin to advance, and up the building to the roof. Apart from the Blade Wing Worms though, there were also those beetles flying around Rin, strange things with jewel-like shells that glowed with inner fire.

Rider was no magus. But she was perceptive and intelligent in her own way. She could see that the Blade Wing Worms were little more than chaff, meant to overwhelm by sheer weight of numbers, and upon reaching the enemy either tear them to pieces physically and or drain them of their prana.

And if needed, to serve as a sacrifices to protect Rin's beetles by keeping enemies from reaching them and their maker. Rider didn't know how they worked, or what they were capable of, but from the way the beetles were positioned around Rin and how she kept them back and allowed the Blade Wing Worms to do all the fighting for her (something an irritated Rider bored with Caster's constructs had joined Rin in), they were clearly special.

 _As if the light from their shells wasn't a hint to that._

 _Her entire family's magic is unnatural, but there's clearly something more to those beetles than meets the eye._

Finally, Rin and Rider reached their destination, stepping out onto the rooftop. As they stepped past the threshold, one of Caster's constructs which had somehow been missed by the Blade Wing Worms tried an ambush.

Rin caught its sword arm with one hand, and slammed her other palm-first into the construct. It didn't break, instead being enveloped in wisps of ethereal light that flowed around it and Rin. After a moment it crumbled into dust, its prana absorbed by the magus.

"Caster doesn't seem too formidable." Rider observed.

"Her familiars aren't formidable." Rin corrected. "Caster's probably a completely different beast. Casters are magi who wield magecraft surpassing those of or forgotten by most magi."

"Forgotten?" Rider echoed with a shrug. "Forgotten doesn't mean superior."

Rin made no indication or sound for a few moments. "Perhaps," she eventually said, and then walked over to the middle of the roof.

As Rider looked on, Rin placed what she was carrying on the ground. It was a large, wooden barrel bound with iron straps running near either end, and a large patch of paper attached to one side. A circle had been drawn on the paper in what looked like blood or some other bodily fluid, in the middle of which was a strange and jagged symbol. Cursive script ran along the outer side of the circle, and along with the symbol must be related to the Matou magecraft or something, as the Grail's provided knowledge on contemporary alphabets and languages was of no use in deciphering the text.

Rider had already dismissed it already, despite the vague answers she got from Rin when she first saw it earlier and had asked her inquiries. What mattered was what it was meant to do, and the answer was satisfying enough: the next step in a series of preparations for the war going back a year, and – as Rider suspected – for when the time came to challenge Archer and his Master.

 _It might be personal on her part, but then again who am I to judge something like that?_

Rider blinked and looked on as beetles landed around the barrel in five groups of five, spaced equally between themselves and from the barrel. And then as one they spread their wings, light flashing from beneath and continuing to come forth even as a magic circle flashed into existence around them and the barrel.

Slowly, Rin began to chant softly, in an older Russian dialect that Rider could identify but not understand through the Grail, and the barrel began to glow a sickly red. A slight breeze picked up around them, but within moments Rider realized this was illusionary.

The air wasn't moving, only giving the impression of such as wisps of ethereal white flowed through the air. It came from below, through the concrete floor, and up the walls from windows. Caster's bounded fields collapsed, their prana drained along with the prana already leached from the people living in the building.

In an act of surprising decency, Rin declined to drain any more from them.

Instead, she just took what was already in the air, and from that locked within Caster's bounded field. It flowed in streams up towards and around her, part of which sustaining her mystery but mostly flowing into the barrel.

Rider took a step back, growling as she sensed something… _wrong_ , lurking inside the barrel, feeling her bloodlust spiking as instinct warned her. Whatever was in that barrel, whatever Rin had been preparing…

 _Gods above and below, what is my Master plotting?_

Resisting the urge to draw her sword and destroy the…thing, that was feeding on prana from inside the barrel, Rider focused on her Master. Rin was no longer chanting, she was singing now, softly… _sadly_ even, one hand clutching at her chest, the other held imploringly out before her.

Those beetles not on the ground flew in concentric rings above the magic circle, lights flashing in precise patterns from their shells. " _Not too different from her family then…_ " Rider thought before briefly closing her eyes behind her visor. " _Certainly, at face value she's not as…disgusting, as her 'grandfather'. But beyond that…_ "

Rider grit her teeth. " _Well, no matter,_ " she thought. " _So long as I get my wish granted, then this is fine. This is fine…isn't it, father?_ "

Finally, Rin's song ended, not in a rising crescendo or a striking note, but fading into silence. The beetles flew back into formation around their mother, while the barrel stood where it was.

" _No…that's not quite right…_ " Rider thought. " _It…it's bloated, and there's something leaking from the seams. And whatever was written on it before…the paper's been burnt off, and the central symbol burned into the wood._ "

As Rin picked up the barrel and took it with her, Rider sighed behind her visor before looking up at the stars peeking through the clouds.

 _Just what am I getting myself into?_

* * *

The following day dawned cloudy and dull, not that that applied to the young woman who energetically burst into the Emiya residence. "GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE!" Taiga greeted at the top of her voice, before slamming the door behind her. Replacing her shoes with slippers, she swept into the house, and thence into the dining room. "Good morning, Rin-chan!"

"Good morning." Rin said with a nod from where she was setting the table.

Taiga blinked at the unenthusiastic response…though it wasn't particularly unusual. Something was off here though, she just knew it.

"So," Taiga said with a cough. "Where's Shirou? And Sakura-chan?"

"They're both in her room."

 _Oh he did not…_

Rin blinked in surprise as Taiga swept from the dining room, and then shrugged before returning to what she was doing. As for Taiga, she swept like a proverbial goddess of divine retribution through the house, causing even Saber – who was sitting to one side outside of Sakura's room – to double-take at the aura of sheer, righteous fury that surrounded the woman.

Wood slammed hard against wood as Taiga slammed Sakura's doors open, half expecting her little brother cuddling naked beneath the sheets with the Tohsaka girl who'd apparently tricked her into thinking she was a good girl. Well now, if that was the case, they had something else coming to them.

"Fuji-nee, do you mind?" a fully-dressed Shirou said with a reproving gaze and tone from where he was sitting next to a clearly uncomfortably-sleeping Sakura.

Divine wrath quickly went out, to be replaced by concern. "What's happened?" Taiga said, approaching to sit next to Shirou, and noting the basin of water with a wet cloth floating in it beside him.

"Sakura's caught a fever." Shirou said, as Taiga placed a hand on the girl's forehead. "It's not too bad but…"

Taiga nodded. "I see." She said before glancing at Shirou. "Did you give her anything yet?"

"I heated some miso for her when I went to wake her earlier and found she'd come down with something." Shirou said.

"Miso?" Taiga echoed.

"Well, you're not supposed to take medicine on an empty stomach, are you?"

"Good point," Taiga said. "Oh dear, Sakura-chan, what happened to you?"

Sakura unexpectedly opened her eyes at that, and causing the siblings to start. "I'm not that sick, you know." She said, trying to sit up only to fall to one side as her world spun. Groaning, she clutched at her head with one hand while Shirou helped her up.

"You were awake?" he asked.

"Someone slammed the doors, so…after that, yes."

Shirou glanced at Taiga who apologetically rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry," she said. "But, are you really alright, Sakura-chan?"

"It's probably just the flu." Sakura said, waving Taiga's concern off. "It'll pass in a day or so."

"Hmm…" Taiga hummed in thought. "It does look like it, but even so, you won't be able to attend school today."

Sakura nodded, and then winced as the motion set off her dizziness. "Seems like it, doesn't it?" she said. "Fujimura-sensei, can you help me get dressed?"

"Eh?"

Sakura smiled weakly. "I can hardly ask sempai to help me get dressed can I?" she said. "I can join you at the breakfast table, at least."

Taiga nodded a few times. "Yes, I see what you mean." She said while shooing Shirou away. "Alright, up we go."

* * *

A/N

Translation for Sakura's spell: one red, one green, five blue, petals dance in the breeze, the witch draws the web, the petals are caught one and all, given to the children, five blue, one green, one red.

Blade Wing Worms; basically Kariya's familiars. Rin can make and use them too among her other familiars and alchemically-bred abominations.

As for those who question if Rin's going yandere…what do you think?


	15. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Transposition

Chapter 14

 _"I'm impressed." Zouken said with a smirk, running a wrinkled hand over the bloated barrels sitting in the storeroom. "When you started this project a year ago, it would take what, a month or two, just to complete the gestation cycle of any one of these. But now, you finished gestating a whole batch in one night."_

 _"What can I say?" Rin said from behind her grandfather. "I'm resourceful."_

 _Zouken chuckled with amused approval. "Yes," he said with a nod and a smirk. "Very resourceful…Caster had already…harvested, the prana of the people in those buildings. With little…effort, on your part, you then took what they hadn't already taken, and with no need to further take advantage of the residents. It's quite admirable, I have to say."_

 _Rin said nothing, her expression giving no indication of how she truly felt. "And through it all," Zouken continued. "The arrangement is such that Caster will take the blame for the incidents with little to no gain for their trouble, where we are able to profit with minimal effort and no…complications."_

 _Rin was silent for a moment longer, and then she briefly closed her eyes. "I learned from the best." She said, and Zouken chuckled again._

 _"Indeed," Zouken said with a smirk. "Still, even if gestation is complete, the next stage as I recall from your research would require more than prana to facilitate, will it not?"_

 _Rin was again silent for a moment, and then she nodded. "Yes." She said softly._

 _"And what do you plan to do, granddaughter?"_

 _Again, Rin was silent for a moment, and then she sighed. "I'm sure," she began. "There are people out there, on the fringes of society, that no one will really miss. Whatever happens to them…some disappearances here and there…I'm sure no one will notice for some time. And…"_

 _"And?"_

 _"…there are still seven Servants and Masters. And at least one pair are aggressively gathering prana. I'm sure we can still pass the blame around at this point."_

 _Zouken chuckled. Turning away from the barrels, he took a few steps closer to Rin, and raising a hand caressed a cheek with surprising gentleness. "How…ruthless of you." He said, smirking up at her._

 _Rin didn't bat an eyelid, instead thinking back to a morning ten years ago. She remembered pushing herself up on her arms, naked in the darkness, shaking from the previous night's training, slime and other fluids dripping from her pale skin. She remembered turning her head, and seeing the half-eaten corpse beside her._

 _'You broke your promise.'_

 _'Weren't you supposed to save me?'_

 _'Why did you die?'_

 _'You promised not to die until you could bring me home!'_

 _'You promised you wouldn't die until you got me out of here!'_

 _'Why?'_

 _'Why did you break your promise?'_

 _'Why?'_

 _'WHY DID YOU DIE?'_

 _Rin blinked, and briefly closed her eyes as she returned to the present. "I have no plans of losing this war." She said. "I will do what I must to win."_

 _"Oh?"_

 _Rin stared her grandfather in the eyes, gleaming amethyst against pitch-black. "I learn from example." She said, and Zouken chuckled._

 _"Indeed…" he said, trailing off as he stepped past and walked away. "Well, you're a smart girl, no, more than that you're a genius. Even I had never considered this project of yours before, and what it involves. Well done…either way…"_

 _Still chuckling, Zouken walked away, leaving Rin alone in the half-light of the storeroom. Silent and unmoving, Rin stared at the barrels before her, and sighing with sad resignation, closed her eyes._

 _I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…_

"…Rin-chan…Rin-chan…Rin-chan…"

Rin blinked as Taiga's voice brought her from early this morning back to the present, and she coughed. "Sorry," Rin said. "I was just thinking, that's all."

"It sounds very interesting, then." Sakura observed.

Rin didn't answer at once, instead taking a spoonful of rice with her chopsticks and putting it into her mouth. Chewing slowly, she swallowed and then briefly closing her eyes, met Sakura's eyes with half-opened ones. "It's nothing important," she said. "Family matters."

Sakura didn't respond for a couple of moments, and then closing her eyes nodded with a smile. "I see." She said as she opened her eyes. "Sorry for prying."

Rin nodded, and turned back to eating her breakfast. Shirou and Taiga stared curiously at each other, but after a shrug from the latter they too returned to their breakfast.

 _I cannot lose._

 _If I lose, I may likely not have a future. But if I win, then things will only get easier from there on out._

 _But…even without that…I need to make it mean something. The sacrifice of everything they could have been…of what they were…of what they should have been…and…_

Rin ate another spoonful of rice, the food tasting like ash in her mouth. " _My purity and nobility are long gone,_ " she thought, briefly glancing towards Shirou. " _But maybe…I can still…we can still…start over again…_ "

* * *

"Are you sure you'll be fine by yourself?"

Sakura nodded and smiled at Shirou's concern. "Yeah, I'll be fine." She said before grinning mischievously. "I'm a grown girl after all."

The two of them shared a laugh at that. "I'm sure." Shirou said before falling silent. For a long moment they just stared at each other, Shirou standing by the door to Sakura's room, Sakura sitting on her bed. And then Shirou coughed, and scratched a cheek. "Well…if you get hungry there's food in the fridge, so don't hesitate to help yourself, or even to cook if you want something hot for yourself and for Saber. Though, either way be careful, you still get dizzy don't you?"

"Hmm…not really," Sakura said. "I mean…I've still got something of a migraine, but the dizziness is gone, and I'm sure the migraine will too once I get a bit more sleep."

Shirou nodded approvingly. "Alright then," he said. "Still, don't push yourself, and if you do cook something or even just help yourself, well, be careful."

Sakura nodded. "Thanks for your concern, sempai." She said. "I really appreciate it."

Shirou nodded as well, and again silence fell between them. After a few moments though a shout from Rin in the distance that they were going to be late broke the silence, and Shirou sighed. "Well then," he said. "I'll be going."

Sakura nodded. "Take care." She said, and Shirou smiled.

"I will." He said, before stepping back and closing the doors. Sighing as she was left alone, Sakura shifted her covers before letting her head fall back onto her pillows.

"I still have so many things to do." She murmured once she was sure Shirou was no longer within earshot. "Still, I could probably spend the morning sleeping. If the migraine does go away, it'll be less of a hassle later."

Nodding to herself at that, Sakura closed her eyes, and went to sleep.

* * *

The lunch bells rang the end of morning classes, the teacher giving a last set of instructions before beginning to erase the chalkboard behind her. The students meanwhile began to bustle about, gathering and stowing away their things before bringing out their lunches. Some left the classroom, others gathered together, pulling and linking desks together to eat on as a group.

Shirou was part of the former, making his way through the school to the council meeting room, and joining Issei and Shinji for lunch. "Well look who's back?" Shinji drawled as Shirou opened the door and stepped inside. "For the past couple of days or so you've been eating lunch with Tohsaka up on the roof, haven't you?"

Shirou just shrugged with a smile, and Shinji gave an amused smirk. "Well, I heard Tohsaka's called in sick today," he said. "I guess we're the backup now, aren't we Ryuudo?"

"Emiya," Issei began as Shirou took a seat with an exasperated glance at Shinji. "Is there something between you and Tohsaka now?"

Shirou gave a surprised yelp at that. "No, of course not!" he protested. "Why would you think that?"

"Well, boys and girls at our age don't usually eat alone together up on the roof, unless they're in a relationship. It's considered as an intimate, no that's not quite right, romantic act."

Shirou spluttered in denial as Shinji snickered. "We're friends, really, just friends." Shirou finally said with a glare at Shinji. "And please, keep this to yourselves. You know as well as I do that there's a rumor mill at school. It's not really a problem getting talked about, but…it's still best, not to get talked about, especially if it's completely wrong."

"Just friends, huh?" Shinji said with a roll of his eyes. "Well, if you say so."

 _Oblivious, aren't you Emiya?_

 _Then again, it wasn't exactly obvious that Tohsaka has had an interest in you for who knows how long. I myself wouldn't know if Rin hadn't told me, what her familiars said Tohsaka had said when she saved you from being killed that night, when Lancer had stabbed you in this school we're in right now._

 _No doubt the excuse she used to move into your house is connected to the war, but still…considering her interest, it's very…convenient for her. Well, you probably aren't sleeping with her though…for now._

Shinji narrowed his eyes as Issei began to preach. " _If you were,_ " Shinji thought. " _And Rin found out, she'd probably have talked about it by now. Maybe even gone berserk…my sister…she's a genius…if she goes berserk…_ "

"…a certain air coming off her," Issei said. "I can't really describe it but, I…yes, she smacks of an apparition to me."

"What?" Shirou asked deadpan, and even Shinji raised an eyebrow.

"As I said, I can't really describe it." Issei said with a cough. "Regardless, that's the reason why no matter how accomplished she might be, no matter how popular she is, I can't trust her."

Issei paused and coughed again. "Well," he said. "If you say you're not in a relationship with her Emiya, then you aren't. But if you are at some point in the future, I can only hope you watch your back. There's just something not right around that girl."

Shinji smiled slightly in amusement as an uncomfortable and exasperated Shirou began to argue with Issei. " _That's pretty much what Ryuudo said when Rin was elected student council president._ " He thought. " _I wonder…maybe you're not so ordinary after all, if you can sense something not quite right about two magi, and are perfectly fine around a blunt like me._ "

Shinji's smile faded as old, half-forgotten resentment at being born and passed over as useless to a magus family welled up, but then more memories welled up, of seeing his sister lying there in the dark, bloated and writhing as worms crawled over, around, and _inside of her_ , and how his mother had been the same, when she was punished for having birthed someone like him. He remembered lashing out at Rin, remembered their blood splattering her room as they'd fought each other, and at the sight of the worms crawling out of the deep wound he'd cut into her side.

 _Is this what you want brother? If it is, then you are welcome to it_.

Shinji closed his eyes, swallowing the bile with practice. The dream…his childhood dream…was dead, and perhaps for the best. But, Rin…

 _We're the same. Two useless children…a genius given away for a wild card…and a useless child set aside for a genius…_

 _…we shouldn't have to hate each other. Not when we're so alike…in more ways than one…_

 _…I don't know if more will come of this, but at least, let's try and get along like we used to, before this night, and start over…_

"…wrong?"

Shinji blinked, coming back to reality at Issei's concerned voice. "No, it's nothing." He said. "Just thinking about some things…private, family matters."

Shirou raised an eyebrow. "Funny," he said. "Rin said the same thing earlier this morning."

Shinji smiled slightly at that, going back to what he'd just remembered, of two useless, eleven-year old children lying naked together under bloody sheets, finding common ground in the bitterness of their shared fate. "Is that so?" he said. "Funny, that."

Shinji chuckled, and then turning back to his lunch, resumed eating. Shirou and Issei shared a glance, but after Issei shrugged, Shirou and Issei also resumed eating.

Unnoticed, Shinji's eyes flickered towards Shirou. " _I wonder,_ " he thought. " _Who will you choose in the end? Or perhaps, have you already chosen? If so, then I wonder, who will come out on top? Will it be the genius? Or will it be the wild card?_ "

* * *

"I'm home!"

Silence met Shirou in the golden twilight of his house's foyer that afternoon, the boy shrugging it off as he took off his shoes and put his slippers on. Making his way into his house, he noted with mild interest the washed utensils, china, pots and pans lying on a drain cloth to one side of the sink, and nodding to himself headed further into the house.

He found Saber seated on the veranda, looking out at the yard beyond with a cool expression on her face. She turned to face him as he approached, and rising to her feet gave a small bow. "Welcome home, Shirou." She said.

Shirou nodded, and then he blinked as Saber stepped closer. "My apologies for not being able to meet you at the front door upon your arrival," she said. "But as you said, part of our alliance with Archer and her Master is that I protect her until her Servant is once again combat-worthy, barring of course your summons via command spell."

"Y-yeah," Shirou said with a nod. "I know that. Speaking of which, where's Sakura?"

"She's in her rooms." Saber indicated, stepping to one side.

"Sleeping?"

"No," Saber said. "She woke up earlier, and after bathing cooked lunch for the three of us, after which she washed up before getting to work."

"I see." Shirou said, and then blinked as something Saber said belatedly registered on his awareness. "Wait, getting to work? Rooms?"

"Yes," Saber said with a nod. "Unfortunately I do not know the details, as I am no magus…"

Saber trailed off, instead watching silently as a concerned Shirou stepped past and stopped in front of Sakura's doors. "Sakura, I'm coming in." he said, just in case she was half-dressed or something inside. Sliding the doors open, he blinked at her absence, and then smelling the faint hints of iron and ozone in the air, sighed and closed the door before heading to the next room.

Sliding the doors open, he blinked at the sight that met him, and sighed again. "I see you made yourself at home." He said with a hint of reproof. "Nice workshop."

Sakura blinked, clearly out of touch with reality and focused on strangely (or not so strangely) swirling patterns of shadow and light in one hand, and then noticing Shirou coughed and blushed. "Yeah, sorry about that," she said. "But, I wanted to start working on improvements from last night so…"

"It's fine." Shirou said, stepping inside and closing the doors beside him. "You should have asked though…or that's what I should be saying, but since you were somewhat out of it this morning…"

Shirou trailed off with a shrug, and smiled at Sakura who smiled back. Shirou took a look around the room, noting with approval the neatly set aside furniture in corner of the room, and with interest the bounded field surrounding the room. "What's the bounded field do?" he asked.

"Well, Fujimura-sensei does come here often so…" Sakura began hesitantly.

Shirou sighed. "I…yeah, I think I see what you mean…Fuji-nee doesn't know about magic and she doesn't and shouldn't know either…" he said. "Mental suggestion?"

Sakura nodded, and Shirou sighed. "It's expected, I guess." He said, before examining Sakura's magic circle, drawn in chalk on the floor. It was composed of two narrowly-spaced concentric circles, with a third, much smaller circle in the center in the middle of which Sakura was sitting. Two circles were tangent to it, one of which had a crescent Moon drawn in the middle, while the other had a single, large circle completely shaded in in the middle, which Shirou assumed was symbolic for the Sun.

Five curving lines ran out to the outer circles, vanishing under bronze stands with bronze basins on top, in each of which burned a single candle. The curving lines were each broken at one point with another circle, in the middle of which was drawn a symbol which Shirou remembered from an alchemy text his father had shown him once but couldn't remember the meaning of. Four more curving lines each ran from the circles breaking the lines running from Sakura's circle, each ending with another circle in the middle of which was drawn one of four other alchemical symbols that could be seen in the magic circle as a whole.

Three sets of lines and circles were dull and lifeless, but Sakura's circle and its adjacent ones were active, as were the outer circles. Shadows gently flickered and ran along the lines, and caressed what looked like a giant pearl and a large chunk of quartz on sitting on the two active sets of lines and circles.

"Interested?" Sakura asked.

"Not really," Shirou said, and then fidgeted as Sakura smiled and raised an eyebrow at him. "Okay fine, I'm curious. What are you doing? Apart from what you said earlier, and of course, you don't need to tell me any details if it means revealing family secrets."

Sakura giggled, and despite himself, Shirou smiled and shrugged in amusement at his own nervousness. "I'm transmuting elements." Sakura said, and Shirou's eyes widened.

"What?"

"I don't have any elemental affinities outside of my Sorcery Trait, Imaginary Numbers." Sakura said. "That gives me control of the 'shadow' element, but the five regular elements are _normally_ out of my reach."

"Wait, you have the Imaginary Numbers?" Shirou asked, wide-eyed. "That's supposed to be…!"

"Incredibly-rare?" Sakura finished. "Yes, I know. Dad described it as a wild card, something that could either be of little or average value, but at the same time he said it could also be something that could push our family's magecraft beyond all possible expectations."

Sakura shrugged. "Anyway," she said. "Dad's expectations aside – since I'm still ten years or more away from getting any real work done on that front – not having access to the five regular elements was a massive pain in my neck, since it meant I couldn't learn a _lot_ of my family's gathered lore."

"True," Shirou agreed. "Without any elemental affinities, you can't use spells based on them. At best, they wouldn't work. At worst…"

"The backlash could kill me, I know." Sakura said with another shrug. "Still, I couldn't do nothing. So I studied. I studied, I studied, and I studied, trying to find a way to get around my limitation. I think it was…about six years ago or so, that I found a solution."

Shirou sat down outside the edge of the circle, and nodded at Sakura to continue. "I was reading a book on the various schools of magecraft," she said. "On their general attributes and such, to see if anything could help me. And what do you know, there it was, mentioned in passing: '…allows for the transformation of elements'."

"What school of magic was that?"

"Formalcraft," Sakura said, and smiled as Shirou glanced at the magic circle with newfound realization. "It took me about two years or so after that to get the system functioning, something Kirei said was a work of genius."

"You don't think so?" Shirou asked.

"If I was a genius," Sakura said. "Then I'd have thought of the solution from the start, and on my own. No, I'm just someone who works hard, that's all."

Shirou smiled and shrugged, thinking to himself that Sakura had a rather…high, standard when it came to qualifying 'genius'. "So you use Formalcraft…" he began.

"It's not just Formalcraft," Sakura corrected. "I also incorporated basic Alchemy and of course, Tohsaka Jewel Magecraft into the system, though that came after I got the basic principles down and functioning."

Sakura paused and laughed. "Apart from hard work and research though," she said. "I was also lucky."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well," Sakura said. "I did say the text only mentioned Formalcraft being able to transform elements in passing, so if I hadn't been attentive I'd have missed it. And also, while working on the basic principles a lot of times were rather hit and miss. Thankfully Formalcraft is a very stable school of magecraft, more prone to simply fizzling out as opposed to potentially blowing up in my face as would be the case of more profound, but less stable schools of magecraft."

"I see." Shirou said with a nod. "And…yeah, I remember that. Because Formalcraft is so well-known, with its focus on rituals, reagents, and things like that which are what ordinary people would think of when someone mentions magic, it's not very profound or powerful, but that's also what makes it very stable, making it very useful for magi who don't have much magic potential. Well, something like that."

Sakura shrugged in agreement, and Shirou glanced back at the circle, and pointed at the pearl and the quartz. "So," he said. "What's up with the pearl and the quartz?"

"That's not a pearl, that's moonstone." Sakura said. "And I prefer to call it rock crystal, not quartz."

"That's a big moonstone."

"Yes, I know." Sakura said with a nod. "I have no idea where my grandfather got it from, but it's very useful for research and experiments about the water element."

Shirou crossed his arms and hummed in thought for several moments. In the meantime, Sakura looked back down at her right hand, her fingers twitching as she manipulated the swirling light and shadow in her hand. "So," Shirou began. "You control shadows."

"Yes."

"And you transmute the shadows into other elements."

"Yes."

"And you can transmute them back."

"Yes."

"So how do you control the elements?" Shirou asked. "I mean, yeah, transmuting elements is all well and good, but, without elemental affinities how do you control elements that you don't have affinities for?"

"Shadows are weak if not outright useless when it comes to the physical." Sakura explained. "But when it comes to the spiritual or the conceptual, they're very powerful. In fact, the core concept behind Imaginary Numbers is 'that which is possible but not on the physical plane'. Get the idea?"

Shirou thought it over for several moments, and then his eyes widened in realization. "I see!" he said. "You need to transmute elements to generate or something, the other elements, but with your shadows you can directly control the concepts and such that make up the spell!"

"Full points!" Sakura said, clapping her hands. "Well, it's a more complicated process than that, and it's still a very circuitous system that requires more effort than actually using an elemental spell directly, but it's a functioning system. I might have to reconstruct control and other functions for my family's existing mysteries, I have to use this circle of mine to enchant gems with elemental spells, and I have to constantly tweak and update my mysteries, but I can do it now. And that's a massive improvement from over six years ago, when I couldn't at all. I daresay I've achieved a miracle."

Sakura paused, and chuckled before smiling at Shirou, her eyes alight with the fires of competition. "This is my Kung Fu." She said. "And it is strong."

Shirou chuckled and nodded. "No argument there," he said with a smile. "Besides, that's what magic is all about isn't it? Making the impossible possible? Okay, it's more complicated than that, but it's the basic idea. You couldn't do something before, and you should never have been able to do it. But now, you can do it. If that doesn't count as a miracle, then I don't know what does."

Sakura blushed, and rubbed the back of her head. "Flatterer," she said softly.

"No, it's the truth." Shirou said earnestly, and Sakura laughed weakly while continuing to rub the back of her head. "So…going back to earlier, what's up with the moonstone and the quartz. Sorry…rock crystal…"

"It's fine," Sakura said, coughing to regain her composure. "Call it whatever you want, it's all personal preference. As for your question, well, you have to remember that gemstones take a long time to form under the Earth, sometimes up to tens if not hundreds of millions of years. In that time, they're under the influence of Nature Spirits who imbue them with elemental affinities of their own, which they retain when they're brought to light on the surface. Moonstone for instance, has an affinity for water. Rock crystal for its part, has an affinity for air or wind, and its sub-element lightning."

"I see." Shirou said with a nod. "So in this case…you're using them to focus the elements or something, aren't you?"

"Water and wind," Sakura agreed with a nod, and then she blushed as her stomach growled. She blushed some more as Shirou laughed, the boy getting to his feet.

"I'm guessing you had lunch somewhat early." He said. "Come on, let's eat something to keep us up until dinner time."

"But I…"

"It's fine," Shirou said insistently, walking over to the doors and opening them slightly. "Your magic circle's not going anywhere, so you can work on your magic again later. And besides, I'm sure you've been working on it for hours now. Let your brain rest, who knows? You might figure out some problem or another that's been holding you back after you let your thoughts freshen up."

Sakura didn't say something at once, instead just staring at Shirou and his earnest smile, and then after several moments, sighed and nodded. "You could be right." She said, dispersing the shadows and light in her hand with a thought. A gesture sent shadows climbing up her bronze stands and over the basins on top to put out the candles, and Sakura stood.

"Yeah, you're definitely right." She groaned as she stretched her cramped muscles. "I could use a break."

Shirou laughed and coming closer held out a hand. "See? What'd I tell you?" he said. "Come on, let's get something to eat."

Sakura nodded in agreement, and taking the offered hand was helped (not that she really needed help) over her circle to avoid smudging the lines or anything along the way. Nodding her thanks, she let Shirou lead her away, neither noticing that despite there being no need for it, they were still holding hands.

And Sakura had absolutely no problem with that.

* * *

A/N

And so, the shadow (no pun intended) of Fate/Zero reveals itself, with Rin Matou never meeting a deluded Kariya like Sakura Matou did in Fate/Zero's ending, only just seeing his half-eaten corpse lying next to her the following morning.

Shinji and Rin finding common ground, oh yeah, Rin Tohsaka would _freak_ at the thought that she has anything in common with Shinji. Which, Rin Matou above aside, she does: it doesn't show to the same degree, but like Shinji she gives off an air that she can never be wrong, she can do anything she sets out to do, and pride in her lineage and abilities. The difference of course, is that while Shinji is a paper tiger, Rin Tohsaka can fully walk the talk, so I suppose she's earned – to an extent – the right to act as she does.

Sakura Tohsaka's secrets are revealed, very large degree of creative license on my part, if derived from canon lore. Admittedly contrived, true, but regardless, I invoke creative license: if you have a problem with that, fuck off. Be thankful I don't drop names, lore Nazis know who they are, insisting on 'purity' and that authors who can't stick to the straight and narrow lore have no business writing FanFiction.

Well, here's something from your fuhrer's language: _leck mich im arsch_.


	16. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Transposition

Chapter 15

"This is good grub." One of the men sitting around the drum with a burning fire inside said drum. He paused to take another bite and chewing it down, swallowed before speaking up. "Better than what we usually get…how'd you get a hold of this?"

One of the number of homeless sitting around the fire shrugged before giving the stew bubbling in the battered pot over the drum a stir. "They had a sale." She said, wearing clean if clearly worn-out clothes. "Enough that I could get more than what I usually get with what I earn on the odd jobs we get every other day. Sure, that means the stuff's probably not worth the attention of the richer folks, but hey, I'm not complaining."

There was a ripple of agreement at that. Given their circumstances in life, the people who could barely make a living from day-to-day (either on alms or on odd jobs that usually lasted only a day or so) and who had to live on the streets or other, out of the way places, had no inclination to turn their noses up on food that people better-off would consider close to being too old for consumption.

It wasn't like they could count on three square meals a day, after all. Sometimes, they might barely get _one_ meal a day, if at all.

"Their loss." One of the homeless quipped, and there was some laughter at that. Smalltalk rippled among them, mostly on what happened earlier during the day, along with other everyday chatter that wasn't particularly different from between those with better circumstances in life. People were still people, no matter their circumstances.

The clatter of a pile of junk collapsing nearby caused everyone to jump, and the talk to end as people turned in its direction as one. Soon after, the sound of something like feet skittering loudly across the ground and fallen detritus was heard. "What was that?" one asked.

"Probably a rat."

"That'd have been a big rat then…very big."

"A dog maybe?"

"Can dogs even move that fast…or sound like that?"

"A cat then?"

"Maybe…hey, Tohru, go and see what it was."

"Why don't you do it?"

"Because you're the closest, and you have a thing for dogs?"

The man gave the other man the stink eye, and then with a sigh went to do as asked. "Fine," he said. "But if I get bitten, I swear…"

The other man shrugged as Tohru muttered to himself, setting his food aside before cautiously walking over to the disturbed pile of junk to see what had caused it to fall down. "Well?" one of his friends asked.

"I don't see anything." Tohru said, stepping closer and on a battered wooden box to look up and over the pile. "Just junk…no wait, what the hell?"

"What is it?"

"There's a drain here, by the wall!" Tohru said, squinting and double-taking at what looked like saliva dripping down in long, sticky threads between torn metal. "And it looks like something chewed its way out…what the…"

Tohru blinked at the sight of something seeming to scurry around in the drain's darkness, and then blinked again, his mouth dropping slightly open as he saw…something, or the suggestion of something that wasn't a rat or a cat much less a dog, something that snarled at him in the shadows. "What the hell…" he began to say, stepping back.

And then screams and shouts broke out as something that looked a small, quadruped… _thing_ , jumped at him, biting into and tearing his face off even as it knocked Tohru to the ground. More of the things followed, ghastly, skinless things that dripped slime over raw flesh and eyeless, elongated and backwards-sloping heads with fanged mouths that rent and tore into Tohru's convulsing body.

The homeless scrambled to their feet, the women among them falling back as the men grabbed the nearest weapons or what could pass for it before charging with shouts of anger and loss. But more of the things came jumping out from the drain and the pile of junk, and then the women too were screaming, as more of the things jumped down from the street above, pouncing and forcing their prey down to tear at them, or even taking bites out of their bodies while the women were still standing and flailing about.

No one could hear them scream.

It wasn't long before silence fell, silence save for the sounds of tearing flesh, of breaking bone, of monsters snarling and nipping at each other as they fought for scraps of flesh and bits of bone, until they scampered off into the darkness searching for more prey, leaving only splatters of blood behind.

Elsewhere, Rin sat in a shadowed alcove, coldly looking out into the night, the Moonlight casting her face in shadow as the wind blew through her hair.

* * *

"Oh?" Taiga said as she stepped into the living/dining room, and looked across the divider into the kitchen. "Rin-chan isn't here?"

"She said she had some family business to take care of." Shirou said from where he was pan-grilling some fish. "So, me and Sakura went out for groceries earlier, and here we are."

"I see." Taiga said, stepping closer. "Well, I suppose it can't be helped. In any case, it's nice to see you back up on your feet again, Sakura-chan."

"No one's happier than I am, but thanks." Sakura said with a small smile, energetically stir-frying green vegetables next to Shirou. Taiga blinked, and then seeing something set aside visibly began salivating.

"Wow!" she gushed. "Is that what I think it is?"

Sakura grinned. "Yes, it is!" she said. "They had some fresh liver at the grocery earlier, so I thought, why not? Stir-fried green vegetables with liver!"

Taiga gushed with anticipation as Shirou chuckled with amusement. "Really," he said. "Everything's fried tonight, it's so unhealthy. Well, it's not like we have fried food regularly, so it's fine I guess."

"Oh come on Shirou," Taiga said with an exaggerated tone. "Oh fine, you do have a point, but…yeah, well as you said it's not like we eat fried food regularly. And the fish isn't fried…what else do we have for tonight?"

"Fried rice and _agedashi tofu_ ," Sakura replied, and then she promptly winced as Taiga gave a yell of delight.

" _Agedashi tofu!_ " she cheered. "The anticipation is killing me!"

Sakura chuckled uncertainly. "Yeah, so uh, maybe you should sit down, sensei." She said. "I mean, it's more comfortable to sit while waiting, isn't it?"

"Oh yes, it is!" Taiga said. "And come to think of it, my show is on."

"Then go ahead and make yourself at home." Sakura said with a smile. "In the meantime we'll just be cooking here, and serve dinner when it's done!"

"Alright!" Taiga said with a grin and a thumbs-up. "I'll leave it to you, but don't take too long now!"

Sakura nodded, looking on in silence as Taiga went over to sit at the table, and taking the remote, turned the TV on and set it to her channel. Once Taiga's attention had been diverted, Sakura sighed and turned to Shirou with a slightly exasperated expression on her face. "Is she always like that?" she asked.

Shirou laughed weakly. "Not always," he said while turning the fish. "But you get used to it."

"Is that so?" Sakura said with a laugh of her own. "Well, it keeps things lively at least."

Shirou chuckled. "I guess it does." He said.

Sakura blinked, and glanced towards Shirou. "Sorry about just now though," she said. "I told sensei to 'make herself at home', which is kind of rude, seeing this isn't really my house or anything."

Shirou looked surprised before smiling and nodding. "It's fine." He said. "It's nothing really worth getting all worked up about."

Sakura nodded back, and then focused once more on her cooking.

* * *

Taiga could only gasp in awe and anticipation as Sakura and Shirou finished setting the table. There was grilled fish, fried rice, _agedashi tofu_ , stir-fried green vegetables with liver, miso soup with tofu, radish, and seaweed, and of course white rice for those who wanted it. "Sakura-chan, Shirou…this is…this is amazing!" Taiga gushed. "It's definitely worth the wait!"

"It wasn't that long a wait…was it?" Sakura asked with a raised eyebrow.

Taiga faux-tutted, a finger wagging in the air. "With all the delicious smells coming from the kitchen," she said. "It _was_ a long wait, even if it actually wasn't."

Sakura chuckled. "I see." She said while taking a seat. "In that case, I'm honored by your praise. But, it's nothing really special."

"What are you saying?" Taiga said, already taking the rice scoop and serving herself some fried rice. "Excelling in the kitchen is a wonderful skill to have! It's something to be proud of! So yes, it _is_ special."

Sakura chuckled again, rubbing the back of her head as her cheeks turned back. "As I said, I'm honored by your praise." She repeated. "But, I can't really take all the credit. Emiya-sempai was the one who cooked the fried rice and the fish, and he was also the one who insisted on adding more than just tofu and radish to the soup."

Taiga nodded, crossing her arms over her chest while smugly smiling to herself. "As should be expected of Shirou," she said, before smirking at Shirou. "His skills in the kitchen are honed by years of experience and high standards set by yours truly. Certainly, the girl who marries him should consider herself fortunate and honored to have such a skilled husband."

"Fuji-nee…" Shirou said with an exasperated expression on his face, and Taiga snickered at him.

"Yes, yes," she said. "It's an exaggeration, I know, but seriously, considering how most men are content to just go with passing skills in the kitchen with expectations that the women in their lives now or in the future will take care of the rest…"

Taiga trailed off and shrugged. "It's an exaggeration," she repeated. "But not by much. Whichever girl gets you in the end should consider herself fortunate that you are who you are, and not just because of your skills in the kitchen."

Shirou just stared at Taiga with a lost expression on his face, mouth hanging silently for a few moments before regaining his wits. "Y-yeah…" he managed to say.

Taiga shrugged and turned to Saber, who was looking at the _agedashi tofu_ with veiled interest. "Anyway, enough about that, let's eat up before it gets cold. Saber-san, you want some _agedashi_?"" she asked, before taking the serving dish and happily passing it over. "Please get some then."

"Thank you very much." Saber said after a moment of surprise, and taking a portion for herself. Taiga nodded, served herself, and replaced the _agedashi_ back on the table. Pouring herself some sauce on a small saucer, she offered it to Saber.

"Here you go, Saber-san." She said with a cheerful smile. "This goes with the _agedashi_."

Saber nodded with a small smile, and letting Taiga pour her some sauce on a small saucer. "Thank you very much." She said again, and Taiga nodded in acceptance.

"Wow, they get along so well now." Shirou murmured to himself. "Considering how things went the first time around…"

"Here you go, sempai." Sakura said, returning Shirou's rice bowl with a serving of rice. Jolted out of his musings, Shirou took the offered rice bowl with a nod.

"Thanks." He said with another nod and a smile.

Sakura smiled back, and then turning to her own bowl, served herself some fried rice.

* * *

"If I remember right," Sakura began, she and Shirou sitting in her makeshift workshop on the Emiya property after they'd finished cleaning up and Taiga had gone home. "Last night you mentioned that for some reason or another, the only spells you could ever use were reinforcement and…tracing, wasn't it?"

"Yes, that's right." Shirou said with a nod.

"Hmm," Sakura hummed thoughtfully, arms crossed over her chest. A few moments later and she nodded. "Do you mind showing me 'tracing' again?"

"Okay." Shirou said with a nod. He held out both hands and closed his eyes. "Trace, on."

A familiar and yet all too different heat shot through his body at the mental image of a gun's hammer striking the firing chamber, but at the same time, he could sense that it was _easier_ to channel and mold prana than before. " _I really was doing it wrong for years._ " He thought ruefully. " _But, I'm sure you did your best, dad, so rest easy. I don't blame you at all._ "

Shirou opened his eyes as he sensed his spell achieve completion, and smiled as he held out a steel ladle to Sakura. "Here you go." He said.

Sakura nodded, taking the offered ladle and examining it closely. Her fingers ran over the item, pressing down and pinching here and there as though to test its sturdiness, and Shirou noticed her trying to bend the ladle slightly a couple of times. Sakura's crest flashed once, and a veiled expression of awe seemed to appear on her face.

"So…what's the verdict?" Shirou ventured.

To his surprise, Sakura raised the ladle, and firmly struck the ground a couple of times. "Uh, what are you doing?" Shirou asked.

"Amazing…" Sakura said softly, again running her fingers over the ladle. "You basically projected this, didn't you?"

"Well, yes," Shirou admitted. "But, dad said it wasn't like projection at all, at least not completely…"

"Of course not," Sakura agreed. Shifting Shirou's ladle to one hand, she held out her own hand, and projected an identical ladle in it. Raising it once, she struck the ground, her construct shattering into glittering motes in an instant. "It's…a similar, mystery, but it's not the same. I mean it works the same way, that is using prana to create a tangible construct or replica of a real object. Normally however, since a projection is basically something made out from nothing, it will return to nothing, and is an extremely fragile thing. Almost completely useless in fact, usually useful only to make something meant to not last long and for trivial or similar reasons. Apart from that…well, it's useful as an exercise in shaping prana, but…"

Sakura trailed off, holding up Shirou's ladle and striking the ground once. She looked at Shirou, and flicked a finger against the ladle. "This is…this is just amazing." She said, shaking her head.

"Um…thanks…" Shirou said, looking really confused. "So…what now?"

Sakura sighed, and placed the ladle on the ground between them. "I'm not completely sure yet," she said. "But if you say you can't use any other spell despite your dad having tried to teach you other spells beyond those you say you can use, then…then I think you're a specialist."

"A specialist?" Shirou echoed, and Sakura nodded.

"It's exactly what it sounds like." She said. "They're magi who have exceeding potential in a single specific branch of Thaumaturgy, but no matter how hard they try, they can never manage anything outside of it."

"Sounds familiar," Shirou said with a small smile, which Sakura returned.

"It does, doesn't it?" she asked, and they shared a laugh. "From the look of things…yes, I think you specialize in material transmutation. It fits too, given projection falls under that branch, along with reinforcement, and those are the spells you can use, aren't they?"

"Yes."

Sakura nodded. "Well," she said. "All I can say is keep practicing. Tracing seems to be your unique, specialized variant of projection, so all I can do for you about it is measure your progress. Also, keep in mind that, well, it's still fundamentally projection. Your constructs might be more resilient and useful than other projections, but they'd still be a degree inferior to the real deal."

"I know." Shirou agreed with a nod. "On both counts; dad always said I should practice whenever I can. Though, if I feel like not practicing, that's fine too."

Sakura looked surprised at that, but decided not to press. "Apart from that," she said. "I guess I could teach you theory, that might come in handy, stock knowledge being what it is."

"True," Shirou admitted, before giving a weak smile. "You never know about these things, right?"

"Yes." Sakura said, before she blinked and put her fist in the palm of her other hand. "Oh yes, I could teach one spell that you should be able to use. It still falls under material transmutation too, after all."

"Alright then," Shirou said. "What is it?"

"Altering," Sakura replied. "It's an extension of reinforcement, with the difference being where in reinforcement you use prana to increase any or all attributes of a given object, in alteration you use prana to, well, alter or change any or all of a given object's attributes. Within reason, of course: if you change it too much, it becomes unstable, especially when you add properties and such that originally weren't part of what the object fundamentally was. In that case, much like with projection, they're made from nothing, and function as latent flaws in the reinforced structure of what's been altered. And when they collapse, so too does the altered object."

Shirou blinked. "I…think I get what you mean, but, isn't that just, well, reinforcement?" he asked.

Sakura blinked. "So…you've altered before?" she asked.

"Well, just last night I turned a stick of wood into a metal bar didn't I? So…yes."

Sakura put a hand against her forehead. "Okay…that's, alteration." She said. "Last night's battle, right?"

"Yes." Shirou said with a nod before smiling apologetically. "Sorry if I confused or misled you, but I didn't really mean to. I always thought it was just something that could be done with reinforcement, not an entirely different mystery."

"Well, that's not exactly wrong either," Sakura admitted. "It is an extension of reinforcement, so…"

She trailed off and shrugged. "So basically, just practice, huh?" Shirou said with a small smile.

"Pretty much,"

Shirou chuckled and nodded. "I see." He said before giving a sigh. "Alright then, sorry if I wasted your time making you think you could teach me more but…"

"Wasted time?" Sakura echoed. "Do you really think I wasted my or your time tonight and last night?"

Shirou didn't reply, instead meeting Sakura's eyes with his own in silence. After several moments, he smiled and nodded. "No," he said, briefly closing his eyes. "They weren't wasted. After all, you helped me properly open my magic circuits, and helped me focus on where I can take my magecraft. Even just a single one of those is a big help, so, thank you very much."

Shirou bowed, and causing Sakura to blush and look away. "Y-you're welcome," she said before giving a cough. "Anyway, do you mind if I start teaching you magical theory some other time? I mean, I still have to finish working on refining the spells I used last night, and we'll need those if we're ever going to get back to stopping Caster's attacks without burning myself out, so…"

"No, I don't mind." Shirou said with an understanding expression. And then he sighed, his face being one of unhappy resignation but tempered with iron resolve in his eyes. "To be honest, I'm not happy we can't go out tonight to keep up what we were doing last night, but, well, as you said you might burn out if you keep going like last night. And if you do, well, there's no way I can help as much as we did last night without you, and I'm not leaving you here alone on your own, at least until Archer can fight again. Even if Saber and I help other people on our own, it's meaningless if someone takes advantage of you while we couldn't help."

Sakura was taken aback by the fire in Shirou's eyes and words, and briefly looked away with pink cheeks. After a moment, she met his eyes again and nodded. "I understand how you feel," she said before smiling lightly. "And since you feel that way, and I feel similarly, I'll do all I can as quickly and as best I can. Who knows? Maybe by tomorrow night, we can get back out there."

Shirou nodded. "Please do," he said before looking concerned. "Don't push yourself though. You've only just recovered from last night after all."

Sakura smiled gratefully. "Thanks for your concern," she said. "But while I won't push myself too far, I'm going to have to 'push myself' as you put it, if I'm going to get anything done quickly and right at the same time. But, it'll be fine. I'm built tough, and if nothing else, I've got my family's crest to back me up. Given how painful getting it was in the first place, well, I guess it's time to get back what's it worth, right?"

Shirou chuckled, though it quickly died. "I guess it can't be helped." He said before sighing. "And it's not like I don't understand that magecraft isn't something that should be taken lightly. That's why…"

Shirou trailed off and sighed again, shaking his head. "Anyway," he said, standing up. "I'll just go get some things from my workshop that I usually practice on. In the meantime, well, you can get back to what you were doing earlier."

"Uh, about that, you don't really have to keep me company or show me…"

"No, it's fine." Shirou interrupted with a smile. "For one thing you're a guest, so I should keep you company when it's appropriate, right? And also, you've shown me a lot of your family's magecraft already, so even if it isn't much, let me even the score, alright?"

Sakura just stared, mouth slightly open as she looked up at Shirou's eager face, and then sighing nodded. "Alright," she said with small sigh. "Do you as like."

Shirou nodded, and turning, left the room closing the doors behind him to get his things. " _You're nice, sempai._ " Sakura thought. " _It's what I like about you. But, that's not always a good thing. People can take advantage of it, you see, like what happens at school when others make you do their chores for them just so they can laze off. Other magi…_ "

Sighing to herself, Sakura let the thoughts trail away, and then getting to her feet lit her circle's candles before sitting in the center.

She had work to do.

 _Let's get to it then._

* * *

Pale fingers gently – _lovingly_ even – caressed the hardened cartilage of the creature's head crest, the creature crooning as it nuzzled itself against its mother's hand.

Rin withdrew her hand, her 'creation' retreating into a small crevice it had carved for itself into the ground of the tunnel it and others like it had made their lair in Fuyuki's undercity. Thick, sticky fluids poured from its skin, coating it and filling up the crevice as the creature curled up into a fetal position, the fluids hardening into a firm but flexible exterior with a gelatinous interior.

Others more had already cocooned themselves in their lair, and for all their numbers they were just one brood of many, an army of alchemically-bred monsters forged of Rin and Shinji's own genetics by Matou familiar magecraft and prepared to be gestated and matured over the past year. They were the hammer to the scalpels that were Rin's Jewel-Shelled Beetles, the sword that was her own magecraft, and the crude claws and fangs that were ordinary worms and their higher-state, 'Blade Wing' forms.

Rin turned her head slightly, to regard the armored figure seething with disgust and barely-restrained fury behind her. "You disapprove?" she whispered.

"This is an abomination!" Rider spat, sweeping an arm out to indicate the foul nest around them. "Not even the vilest of…of _her_ deeds and creations ever sank to this depth! This place should burn!"

Rin didn't reply at once, instead looking out at the surrounding nest once again. "You would know, wouldn't you?" she asked.

"What did you say?" Rider whispered, her voice cold.

Rin ignored the question. "Do you think I enjoy doing what I've done?" she asked. "Do you think I would have made this choice if I had any others I could have made? Do you think I don't know _what_ they are, what they were made from, what they could and should have been?"

"Why?" Rider demanded. "Why go this far? Surely victory is assured between my power and your genius?"

Rin glanced coolly at her Servant. "Funny," she said. "I recall a different victor at Camlann."

Silver flashed in the undercity's twilight, but Rin didn't so much as flinch at the steel hanging just an inch from her head. "I warn you, _Master_ ," Rider growled. "I warn you."

Rin turned to fully face Rider. "By all means, go ahead." She challenged, and after a few moments Rider lowered her sword. "I thought so. In any case, it seems I've said too much, and I apologize. With that said, as a Rider your abilities are reduced. Berserker or Saber would have been better suited for you. Unfortunately, by the time I summoned you Berserker had already been summoned, and I couldn't really control under which class you would have been summoned either."

Rider snorted. "Apology accepted," she said stiffly.

Rin nodded, half-turning back to her creations' nest. "Your power is accounted for," she said. "And so is my genius. For you see, _this_ is my genius."

Rider shook her head slowly. "Abomination…" she snarled.

Rin was silent for several moments, and when she spoke it caught Rider by surprise.

"I know. But it's the only choice I have. And I also have no choice but to give my all in this war. And neither do you. If we don't, then neither of us will win. And if we don't win, then all this will be for nothing. And I won't let that happen."

* * *

A/N

Some slice of life, some more nerdy romance between Shirou and Sakura, and plenty of horror. To be fair, it's not completely Rin's fault. Yeah, those…things, they were the product of her mind. But, who was it who shaped that mind, and provided it with the foul knowledge which perverted Rin's genius and turned it to this abominable conclusion? And who was it who gave her no choice, one way or another, to go this far just to win?


	17. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Transposition

Chapter 16

The morning dawned bright and sunny, if cool and crisp despite winter already fast approaching its end. Humming softly to himself, Shirou approached Sakura's room and politely knocked three times. "Sakura, it's me." He said.

"Come in." Sakura replied.

Taking that as his cue, Shirou slid the doors open, and blinked. Sakura wasn't wearing her uniform, wearing casual clothes instead. For a moment, Shirou was wrong-footed, and then realizing something was up, stepped into the room and closed the doors behind him, knowing that Sakura had a bounded field up around her room. Well, he assumed she did.

"Did something happen?" he asked softly.

"Yes," Sakura nodded, looking very grim. "And it's alright. There's a bounded field around my room to keep people from eavesdropping or just walking in."

"I thought as much." Shirou said with a sigh before looking concerned himself. "So what happened?"

"Kirei contacted one of my familiars." Sakura replied. "Before sunrise this morning, policemen on patrol found plenty of bloodstains along part of the waterfront, and further investigation found more bloodstains across the entire length of the waterfront. What's more, they also discovered that a large number of the homeless who can usually be found there have gone missing. The police and Kirei both think there's foul play involved, but while the police have no real leads, Kirei though…"

Sakura trailed off as Shirou grit his teeth, and clenched his fists. "Caster?" he asked.

"It seems that way, doesn't it?" Sakura asked after a moment, but Shirou noticed the pause and with it, a strange hint to Sakura's voice.

"You don't think it's him or her?" he asked.

"It could be," Sakura conceded. "But something's not right here. Or rather, something's not adding up. Caster's method of gathering prana so far involves draining people of their life force to the brink of death itself, but without doing any real physical harm. And that's just it: logically-speaking, if Caster wanted to kill, they'd do so by completely draining their victims' life force, without physically harming their bodies."

Shirou blinked. "But," he said. "The police and Kotomine found lots of bloodstains, didn't they?"

"Yes." Sakura said with a nod. "And that's what worries me. There's a logical disconnect between Caster's methods so far and what happened last night. The evidence for it is rather circumstantial, but, it's possible someone's decided to aggressively gather prana by targeting innocent people, and pin the blame on Caster. If that's the case though, they're rather clumsy, to have left a logical disconnect between the methods."

"That's…"

"Don't get too worked up over it yet," Sakura said to Shirou. "It's also possible this is a trick on Caster's part, to make other Masters and Servants think that someone else is gathering prana aggressively, and turn attention away from Caster themselves."

Sakura paused and then sighed, unhappily crossing her arms over her chest. "But," she said. "It could be that this second…no, Caster hasn't actually killed anyone yet, this murderous bastard could also be trying to make us think this is some trick on Caster's part…damn it, I hate this cloak and dagger business…"

"So you'll be investigating." Shirou said as Sakura trailed off. It wasn't a question.

"Yes," Sakura said with a nod. "I'll try and finish things this morning, if so I should be at school around lunch. If that's the case, we should meet up on the roof to discuss things."

"And if that's not the case?"

Sakura smiled and half-turning, whistled. Shirou blinked as he saw a small swallow perched on the dresser and which he hadn't noticed until now fly over to Sakura and alighting on her arm. It preened itself a couple of times, and then spreading its wings bowed to Shirou, who grinned at the sight.

"You'll contact me by familiar then." He said, and Sakura nodded.

"Yes." She said. "As for our Servants, I'm taking Archer with me, he's largely recovered by now, enough to engage in a fighting retreat I think, or at least to hold out long enough for Saber to get there. As for Saber, well, since she can't enter astral form she'll have to stay here. But just in case something goes wrong before we can link up, don't hesitate to use a command spell."

"I won't." Shirou said with a glance at his arm. "I still don't really like these things, but…I don't plan on dying anytime soon. Especially not until we put a stop to these attacks."

Sakura nodded, and walked over to the doors. "Apart from that," she said, sliding the doors open. "Kirei also sent another cover letter so…"

Sakura trailed off, her expression turning alarmed as she stepped out, glancing side to side down the veranda outside. "What is it?" Shirou asked, walking up to Sakura.

"I could have sworn…" Sakura murmured before shaking her head. "No, it's nothing."

Shirou just stayed silent as Sakura sent her familiar flying off, and then stepped back as she stepped inside the room and closed the doors. "As I was saying," she said, leaning lightly against the doors behind her. "Kirei's sent a cover letter. That should be enough Fujimura-sensei, seeing as she won't let skipping school go otherwise."

Shirou sighed. "Yeah, it should." He said, scratching the back of his head. "I don't like the idea of lying to her, but in hindsight that's a rather stupid thing to say and feel, seeing as she doesn't know I'm a magus and all, and you could say me and dad have been lying to her for years…no, it's not like we told lies we just didn't tell her the truth…but still, that's…!"

Sakura smiled sympathetically as Shirou made a sound of frustration, and then taking a deep breath glanced at Sakura. "Okay," he said. "I'm guessing that's all?"

"For now."

Shirou nodded and sighed again. "Alright," he said. "I'll wait for you at school then or wherever you plan to meet up at in case you can't finish things this morning."

Sakura nodded, and Shirou smiled, leading the way out of her room. "Well then," he said. "Shall we get going?"

Giggling as Shirou's statement was punctuated by a distant shout from Taiga, Sakura nodded her agreement. "Yes, we should." She said, following after him. "We don't want to keep the tiger waiting, do we?"

Shirou laughed and nodded in agreement. "No," he agreed. "We definitely don't."

Laughing to themselves, the two magi proceeded to the dining room.

* * *

"Hmm…" Taiga hummed as she read the note from Kirei over the breakfast table. "Family business huh? Well, I've talked to Father Kotomine over the phone before, about Sakura-chan staying over until her house is fixed, and I see no reason then and now about going against his word."

"Thanks for the understanding, sensei." Sakura said with a nod.

Taiga nodded back. "No problem." She said with a grin. "With that said though, Sakura-chan, I'm surprised your guardian is a priest, and of the Roman Church at that."

"Yes, well," Sakura said with a momentary pause for thought. "Dad was an old friend of Kirei's dad, Father Risei, and helped them out a while back. That's why Kirei became my guardian after my parents died."

Sakura fell silent and still for a moment after saying that, and then she sighed. "Well," she said with a sad smile. "He did his best."

Shirou glanced worriedly at Sakura, while Taiga nodded slowly. Saber looked sympathetic, while Rin's face was unreadable. "Sorry, Sakura-chan." Taiga said softly. "I shouldn't have brought it up."

Sakura shook her head. "No," she said. "It's fine. I…I've moved on…"

Taiga nodded and turned back to her breakfast. Sakura ate a spoonful of rice and then blinking, glanced at Shirou across the table. Seeing his worried expression, she smiled and nodded once at him, and after another moment he sighed and nodded as well.

The gathering ate in silence with the exception of the music from the TV in the corner, but after a few minutes Rin spoke up. "So," she began. "What's this family business of yours about? I don't really mean to pry, but, as an upperclassman and a student leader, I can't help but wonder what needs you skipping school for at least half a day."

"Rin…!" Taiga said chidingly, but Sakura waved it off.

"No, she's got a point." She said before looking at Rin. "Still, seeing as it's private, I can't give any details, though I could give the general idea."

"Oh?" Rin prompted.

"Let's just say," Sakura began. "That something related to the family properties or rather business has turned up, and I need to be present with my guardian to properly deal with it."

Taiga looked understanding, coming from a propertied family herself, and nodded after a moment. Rin narrowed her eyes, and slightly turned her face away with a small smile. "I see." She said. "I guess I can be fine with that."

Sakura narrowed her eyes slightly, while Shirou looked on with concern. He knew that Sakura and Rin weren't part of the same circles at school, even if they knew about each other. But now, it looked as though there could be more between them than he thought there was.

 _What's going on here?_

 _Is there something between them? Between their families?_

 _Something that might be trouble in the future?_

 _Rin…Sakura…_

* * *

"I was careless." Rin remarked.

"What?" Shinji said. The two of them were in Rin's office at school, Rin looking some Student Council business over before classes started for the day, and Shinji performing his duties as her deputy.

"I failed to take into account the difference between Caster and my methods." Rin said, looking out the window at the students crossing the grounds below. "Caster drains people of their prana without damaging their bodies. If she wanted to kill, she'd just drain them completely. The Children though…"

Rin trailed off, eyes narrowing but giving no further physical sign of displeasure. "Tokiomi's daughter is sharp." She said after several moments. "She caught onto my mistake just from the first reports."

Rin made a sound of disgust, and turned away from the windows. "Tokiomi did say we had equal potential, but still…" she murmured, walking over to and sitting on her chair. "I could do better than her."

Shinji was silent for several moments, and then briefly looked sideways in thought. "How'd you find out about all this?" he asked.

"How do you think?"

"You had a familiar spying on her."

"Quite," Rin said, sitting back in her chair. "It's harder than you might think though, pulling it off. Even her basic bounded fields are quite effective, so much so I can't just peer much less just walk into her field laboratory at Emiya's, much less her residence. Even just eavesdropping aroused her suspicions this morning."

"Do you think she suspects?"

"That we're behind the second wave of attacks on civilians, or that I've been eavesdropping on her?" Rin replied. "I think she has suspicions about the latter, but I also think we're still in the clear over the former."

"Don't you think it's strange though, that she found out about what happened last night so quickly, that she'd quickly arrange for herself to slip away and investigate today?"

"Not really," Rin said. "She has that damn priest Kotomine on her side, or so she thinks. Though, he might as well be, so long as it's in his interests to stay on her side."

"Kotomine…"

Rin chuckled. "He is a rather shifty character, isn't he?" she said. "Still, I do owe him a favor or a gift, after all, he did kill Tokiomi. And what a poetic death too, to be stabbed in the back by someone he trusted with his life and wellbeing…"

Rin broke off to laugh with murderous satisfaction, causing Shinji to look worried. It ended after only a few moments though, Rin gasping as she forced her emotions back under control, and pinched her nose. "My only regret is that I couldn't do it myself…" she whispered, but then she looked up at Shinji. "Enough about this, we have other, more important matters to attend to, such as the budget and plans for the spring activities."

Shinji lowered his face. "Rin," he said softly. "I understand why you want to change the topic, but this is serious."

Rin icily stared at her brother, but Shinji pressed on regardless. "Tohsaka is investigating alongside Kotomine," he said. "What if they find…"

"They will find nothing." Rin interrupted. "The nests are all too deep in the undercity, to the point that even if Sakura and Kotomine go into the undercity, it's past the point where either would consider safe. Any further and their line of retreat would be too vulnerable to being cut off."

Shinji was silent, and after a moment Rin swiveled her chair sideways, icily glaring at Shinji from the corner of her eyes. "Or perhaps," she said. "Do you want to stop? To abort this strategy?"

"Rin, I…"

"We could do that." Rin said, closing her eyes briefly. "But if we did…having come this far, then what will all the sacrifices have been for? Everyone we've killed last night. The children who could have been…"

Rin trailed off, and after a couple of moments Shinji grit his teeth, and closing his eyes clenched his fists so hard that they hurt. "I understand." He finally said.

"Then let us move on." Rin said, turning back to her desk and paperwork.

"Yes," Shinji said before a thought occurred to him. "But, just one last thing."

"What?" Rin asked irritably.

"Emiya," he said, Rin's eyes going wide with fear. "What if he finds out? Finds out what we've done?"

For a long moment, Rin sat silent and unmoving, and then swallowing dryly regained her composure. "Leave that to me." She said, and with a sigh Shinji nodded.

"Alright then,"

* * *

Kirei and Sakura leisurely walked alongside the waterfront, the combination of a tall, dour-looking priest in his austere, dark-colored habit clashing with the casually-dressed, relaxed-looking teenager beside him. Said teenager was currently holding a leash in one hand, tied to a small dog which was cheerfully sniffing the ground and leading them along the waterfront.

"Just how many familiars do you have?" Kirei asked.

"Enough," Sakura replied.

"Is that so?"

"Yes," Sakura said before giving a smile. "This one's something of a mercy case though."

"Oh?"

"I didn't plan on making it a familiar, you see." Sakura explained. "I think it was a few years ago, when I was walking home and some son of a bitch didn't even slow down and just ran over a poor stray crossing the street. I pitied the poor thing, and brought it home."

"There you repaired the body and replaced key organs and such with gemstones, giving it new life as one of your familiars." Kirei concluded. "I wouldn't call that mercy, more like a magus just salvaging some raw material she saw lying around, and putting it to use rather than have it waste away."

Sakura didn't reply at once. "Maybe," she admitted after a few moments, and then looking up moved her head from side to side a few times. "We're being watched."

"Yes, I know." Kirei admitted. "Some familiars perhaps, or a Servant. I doubt you're the only Master to know about Caster stepping up their game, they did feature the disappearances in the morning news. Even without me telling them what I told you, the other Masters would have suspicions if they are anywhere near competent, and would have probably sent familiars at least to look into things."

"Yikes," Sakura said with a grimace. "If things go badly, we might end up encountering a Master and or their Servant here. We might have to fight."

"Certainly," Kirei said with a nod. "We may encounter another set of participants here. But, I will not allow a battle in broad daylight, bounded fields or not. This is an official investigation by the Overseer's Office, with the Tohsaka Master assisting. Any and all interference will be considered as a violation of the conduct required from all participants of the contest."

He gave her a look at that, as though saying 'not even if you want to fight', but Sakura just smiled and shrugged it off. "Speaking of Caster though," Kirei said. "They're starting to go too far. I might have to temporarily stop the contest, and order all participants to focus on Caster, with a reward of…shall we say, an extra command spell, to whoever takes their head?"

Sakura looked at Kirei in surprise. "You can do that?" she asked.

"If my father could do it," Kirei replied. "I can as well. The Caster of the previous war was extremely aggressive."

Sakura chuckled. "I see." He said. "So that's the power of the Overseer."

"So it is."

Sakura frowned though, and Kirei raised an eyebrow in surprise. "What seems to be the problem?" he asked.

"About Caster and these recent attacks," Sakura said, before telling Kirei what she and Shirou had discussed earlier that morning, causing the priest to take a thoughtful expression.

"I see." He said. "Certainly, there's a logical disconnection between last night and Caster's actions so far. Of course, this could also be a ploy on their or another Master's part but still…"

"We need to know more before deciding on extreme measures like what your dad did." Sakura said.

"Indeed," Kirei said before giving Sakura a wry smile. "Well-perceived, and well-reasoned; your father would have been proud."

Sakura shrugged, and was about to say something when suddenly her familiar stopped, and then ears folding back and tail firmly straight with body tense as though to pounce, it growled at a storm drain to their right. Kirei narrowed his eyes, he and Sakura walking a few steps closer. The drain was closed off with a grill, but it was rusted and in some places had fallen through.

No, not quite: closer inspection on their parts indicated it had been _chewed_ through, and recently at that.

"It looks like whoever our perp is, they're hiding in the undercity." Sakura said dryly.

"Perp? Really, Sakura?" Kirei echoed. "Have you been watching American police and detective shows? Those aren't good for you, you know. You're better off focusing on your studies, or trying to seduce that Emiya boy."

Sakura coughed loudly before glaring at Kirei who only smirked at her. "So," he began. "Should we investigate further?"

"Are you crazy?" Sakura said. "I'm not going into the undercity without knowing more of what we're up against."

"And how will we know more if we don't go into the undercity?"

"We don't have to do it in person." Sakura said. "I could send a few familiars in, though I'll need to tweak their eyes for operations in the dark. There's probably less light in there than under a New Moon."

Kirei nodded before smirking again. " _Lancer,_ " he said, speaking to the Servant – Archer (also in astral form) aside – who'd been watching them the whole time he and Sakura had been investigating this stretch of the waterfront. " _I have a task just for you. And it seems a very fitting one, given your background. Tonight, you will enter these tunnels, follow the scent of last night's attackers back to their lair, test their capabilities, and withdraw. Understood?_ "

" _I fucking hate you._ " Lancer snarled his thoughts, his hatred spiking further at Kirei's mental laughter.

"…go?" Sakura was asking, and Kirei returned to reality with a blink of his eyes.

"Yes," he said. "If we're not going any further than here, then we should go."

Sakura nodded and walked back the way they came. "I want to see the other areas where attacks were made." She said. "Just to cross-reference with the scents here, to see if it's the same perp or perps."

"Again with that American word," Kirei said disapprovingly before giving a sigh. "Very well, if that's what you want."

Sakura nodded, and walked in silence for several more minutes. "What seems to be on your mind, Sakura?" Kirei finally asked.

"It's strange, isn't it?" Sakura asked back.

"What is?"

"Not the bodies being taken away, bodies can be useful after all, one way or another," Sakura said with a dark expression on her face. "But, the blood…given the stains on the surroundings, there should have been more, and there hasn't been enough time for it to dry, and there's no sign they drained into the river either. In fact, plenty of them shouldn't have drained away. And yet…"

Sakura trailed off, but Kirei understood what she was trying to say. "The attackers made certain to avoid…wasting, or leaving behind even spilled blood. Meticulous, aren't they?" he asked.

"Yes, and that's what worries me."

Kirei looked at Sakura curiously. "Why is that?" he asked.

"I don't know." Sakura replied. "And that only makes my worries worse."

Kirei didn't say anything, though he too frowned in thought at Sakura's worries.

 _Killing the victims for their prana makes sense, but their bodies and even the blood which was already spilled, why take them as well? Well, it's clear there's use for them, but what?_

 _What are we missing here? And what is our enemy planning?_

* * *

Silence hung heavy over the classroom, broken only by the teacher's lecture on Japanese literature from the Heian Era, as well as the sound of pens and pencils scribbling on notebooks and sheets of paper. A gentle breeze blew through the windows, the curtains gently stirring with the wind.

That silence was now broken as a sparrow chirped almost as though in greeting, flying through the windows to the surprise of everyone present. It landed on one girl's desk, and after chirping a few times flew to the middle of Shirou's desk.

Shirou stared. The bird stared back. Students seated next to Shirou leaned in, and the bird tilted its head. Shirou blinked as he felt his circuits heat up in instinctive resistance to the flow of prana from the bird entering his body, and allowed Sakura's prana entry.

" _Things are more complicated than expected_." Shirou heard Sakura's voice in his head. " _I won't be coming to school today. Meet me after school here. Bring Saber with you, just in case._ "

The image of a café came to mind, followed by landmarks that allowed Shirou to place it. " _Got it._ " He thought in reply. " _See you later then, and take care._ "

" _Thanks._ "

The bird chirped a few times, and then spreading its wings flew once around the classroom and then back out the windows. "What was that?" one of Shirou's classmates asked.

"A sparrow?" Shirou asked skeptically.

"Oh, so you can do sarcasm too, can you Emiya?" the other boy said with a grin.

Shirou just smiled and shrugged, and the teacher coughed before tapping a finger against her desk. "Settle down, everyone." She said. "Anyway, Gotou-kun, please read the passage on page 83, and interpret the author's meaning as best you can."

"Yes, sensei." The tanned boy with dyed blonde hair said before getting up, his textbook in hand and doing as the teacher said. Meanwhile, Shirou's mind was on what Sakura had told him.

" _More complicated than expected, huh?_ " he thought. " _How? I wish you could have told me the details. But…_ "

Shirou narrowed his eyes before glancing out the window, and at the surprisingly clear blue sky visible beyond. " _It can't be anything good,_ " he thought. " _If it's more complicated than just people going missing with plenty of blood left behind._ "

Beneath his desk, Shirou clenched his fists. " _No matter what it takes,_ " he thought. " _Whether it's Caster or someone else, they won't get away with hurting or worse, killing innocent people. I won't let them get away with it, much less actually winning the Holy Grail._ "

* * *

The rest of the day passed uneventfully.

At school, Shirou ate lunch with Issei, Shinji busy with his sister in her office. Classes passed one after another with nothing further out of the ordinary, and despite being accosted by Ayako Mitsuzuri yet again for Shirou to rejoin the _Kyuudo_ Team, Shirou left without incident to pick up Saber before rendezvousing with Sakura and Archer.

As for Sakura, she spent the whole morning and most of the afternoon roaming the waterfront with Kirei, finding no real difference between the scent of the attackers from the first site they investigated in the morning with the others they investigated during the day. Tracing the scent trails all led to drains and other egress points leading in and out of the undercity, and which neither the priest nor the magus were willing to enter at the time.

In the end, the two broke off the investigation as the skies began to turn gold and red, Kirei hurrying back to his church to hold his evening service, and Sakura making for Ahnenerbe for a late lunch before meeting up with Shirou and Saber in the same café.

Deep beneath Fuyuki City, nests festered in the darkness, fleshy sacs of tough, plastic-like bio-matter pulsing gently in a measured pattern, filled with a translucent, gelatinous fluid in which a monster curled and grew in sleep. The nests sweltered with heat, the growth of the monsters – the Children as their maker, their _mother_ called them – within releasing plenty of heat from the process.

Flesh and bone grew and were reshaped to better suit the Children's matured forms, skin hardening to form armored scales, fangs and claws lengthened and sharpened, while magic circuits flickered as mysteries were engraved onto the Children's very being. Sacs bloated and throbbed like obscene boils in the dark as the Children within grew, though not all proceeded at the same pace.

Most grew at a more leisurely rate, but a few others grew at an insane rate, their mother risking mutation and genetic catastrophe resulting from such accelerated growth to prepare to strike her first real blow of the war. Though, even there Rin was planning to salvage lessons from the genetic and physiological flaws of the Children, to be corrected or improved, and applied to those still in their growth sacs.

Night fell. The stars and the Moon shone down from the sky, Fuyuki City's nightlife booming as might be expected of a city with a population of over a million. In Ahnenerbe Sakura, Shirou, Saber, and Archer sat in a secluded booth, protected from prying eyes and ears by a bounded field while they discussed Sakura's findings during the day.

Night deepened. An albino of a child wandered out of her castle, accompanied by a swarthy giant, with no real target in particular and just to take any opportunity that might turn up along the way.

Sakura, Shirou, and their Servants marched out in response to Dragon Tooth Warriors arriving at another apartment complex. Caster stood in her sanctum, overseeing her operations through a glowing sphere of magic.

Sacs erupted with pale, translucent fluid, harsh screams splitting the darkness as the Children clawed their way out of their growth sacs. Some were humanoid in shape, standing on two legs. Other were like insects, with multiple lags and pincer-tipped arms and fanged mouths, backs bristling with armored stingers or sporting tails tipped with a stinger dripping with venom.

What light there was in the hatched nests gleamed off armored plates, and unlike their larval states, eyes of various forms blinked and stared out at the world around them.

A few of the Children collapsed soon after emerging from their sacs, their genetic flaws consigning them to quick and painful deaths. Their siblings pounced on their dying forms, ripping dripping gobbets of flesh to devouring, or even fighting amongst themselves over the right to scavenge their dying siblings.

More often than not, such squabbles ended in death, the loser being consumed by the victor, or where the victor was too injured, taken advantage of and devoured in their turn. And as they culled and consumed the weaker among them, a second wave of mutations occurred, armor growing thicker, stronger, taking on new forms to protect themselves. Venom grew even more potent, and weapon-forms evolved as flesh twisted and grew unnaturally.

Matured and hot-blooded broods howled in the darkness, and as Rin stared out from her office windows in the deserted school, she closed her eyes to give the word. "Rider," she said. "It's time to fight."

* * *

A/N

Hey, no one made an issue when it was an open secret that Kirei was Tokiomi's apprentice just before or even during the 4th war, so why would they make an issue when Sakura and Kirei are going around investigating together? And they do have an official excuse i.e. '…an official investigation by the Overseer's Office, with the Tohsaka Master assisting.'

(shrugs)

Moving on, so what if Rin's unsuitable to be a Lesser Grail, all that means is she's a 'trained' magus under Zouken's thumb…and a genius with massive potential. She might not be able to use or make Shadow Giants, and has no connection to Angra Mainyu, but her own talents plus having an actual magus for a teacher and greater resources than in canon (Rin Tohsaka was always short on cash remember) makes for a dangerous combination.


	18. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Transposition

Chapter 17

 _"Caster has taken up residence in Ryuudo Temple, atop Mount Enzo." Rin said, sitting on her chair behind her desk in the Student Council President's office. The room lights were off, leaving the Moon the only source of light through the windows behind the president's desk. They backlit the purple-haired magus, and cast her face into ominous shadows. "It's an impressive strategic choice, and one I'm surprised no one has considered before. The temple sits atop a junction of ley-lines, from which Caster can draw prana in addition to that they collect from their victims across the city."_

 _"And you want me to drive them off before they collect enough to become a major threat." Rider said. It wasn't a question, though Rin nodded in confirmation regardless._

 _"A Caster's strength lies in their spells and magic." She said, sitting back in her chair. "With enough prana and depending on who the Caster in question is, they could unleash mysteries comparable in power and weight to the more powerful Noble Phantasms."_

 _"I see." Rider said. "Well, there's certainly sense in driving the Caster from such a position before they become a real problem. With that said, attacking a magus in their own stronghold is a rather foolhardy venture. Even… **she** , for all her pride, dared not challenge Merlin in his place of power, despite being his equal – more or less – in magic on other battlefields."_

 _"I cannot argue against that point." Rin continued after a moment, briefly closing her eyes. "However, my grandfather was particularly…insistent, now that we've mustered our strength, to drive Caster from the mountain."_

 _"Any particular reason why?"_

 _"I didn't ask." Rin said, turning away and causing Rider to snort. "I do have my suspicions however."_

 _"Oh?"_

 _"Ryuudo Temple is one of two places where the Holy Grail may manifest at the conclusion of this war." Rin said. "The other is at Kotomine Church, but more to the point I suspect my grandfather does not wish for such a significant location to be under the thumb of arguably the most powerful magus in this city at present."_

 _"I see." Rider said after a moment. "Then, what's your plan?"_

 _"Mount Enzo as a whole is protected by a bounded field." Rin said, turning back to Rider. "It covers the entire mountain, and weakens spiritual entities that attempt to approach on other routes beyond that of the proper one that leads up to the temple gates. And coincidentally enough, said route also happens to follow a ley-line, preventing a bounded field from being placed over or across the temple gates, not without disrupting the flow of mana through the ley-line."_

 _"It's a weak point then."_

 _"Indeed," Rin agreed with a nod before narrowing her eyes. "But even if a bounded field cannot be placed over or across the temple gates, I do not doubt that somehow Caster has somehow managed to concentrate their defenses on the temple gates. The route that leads up to it is still the quickest and easiest way to reach the temple after all."_

 _For several moments Rider stood silent and still, and then beginning to shake, burst into loud and joyful laughter. "Ah, my Master," she said after several moment of laughter. "I admit I was beginning to question accepting your call, after everything I've learned you've done over the past couple of days."_

 _Rin narrowed her eyes. "Is that so?" she asked neutrally._

 _"Yes," Rider said with a nod, but behind her mask she was grinning. "I will not apologize, for I will state a fact, though I suspect you will be angered by it: truly you are your grandfather's granddaughter."_

 _Rin stiffened, and narrowed her eyes further. "Is that all you have to say?" she asked after a moment._

 _"No," Rider said. "I also want to say I've largely forgiven you my misgivings, all thanks to the orders you've just given me. As for my remaining misgivings…"_

 _Rider trailed off and shrugged. "No one's perfect." She said coldly. "No one…"_

 _Rin didn't reply at once, but after a couple of moments she closed her eyes and relaxed. "I see." She said, opening her eyes. "May I ask why you've forgiven me?"_

 _"You said Caster will likely have concentrated their defenses on the temple gates, didn't you?"_

 _"I did."_

 _"And you want me to break through those defenses."_

 _"Yes."_

 _"My class is Rider." Rider said, spreading her hands. "My magic resistance is far below those of the three Servant Knights. Also, as a Rider, I am not as powerful as I could be. You could even say I'm quite vulnerable to Caster's defenses, and to Caster themselves, once I break through their gates. So…small chance of success, and a large chance of defeat or even death…"_

 _Rider paused, and placed her hands on her hips. And behind her mask, her grin grew even wider._

 _"I like these odds."_

Moonlight glinted off steel plate as Rider landed at the base of the stairway leading up to Ryuudo Temple, the knight having leapt over the skyline of the city in the night to reach her destination. For a few moments she just stared up at the staircase, and then with brief burst of wind flecked with red, she summoned her sword. Holding it low in one hand, Rider advanced up the stairway.

She moved slowly, deliberately, warily even. This was enemy territory, after all. And while she would be first to admit that she had a preference to simply let her battle fury carry her and her enemies away on a tide of rage, Rider was by no means stupid, nor did she have any intention to lose.

The chance of success was admittedly small enough, and as exhilarating as that was, to turn that small chance into reality would require everything she had, more than she could give, ironically enough, were she to let her battle fury loose this early in this battle. " _It will come, sooner or later._ " Rider thought as she advanced up the temple, her rationality fighting down the impatience and temptation to simply thunder up the stairway. " _I don't know when, but it will, and I'll recognize it when it comes. Then I'll crush everything that stands before me, and none will stand against me. But if I let loose too soon, it's just giving the enemy an opportunity._ "

Rider continued to climb, and then stopping, narrowed her eyes. Leaves rustled with the breeze, and then a long-haired man in a blue and violet kimono with a long katana in one hand stood several steps up from her, if somewhat well below the temple gates now visible at the end of the stairway. "That's as far as you go, my enemy." The man, no, _Servant_ said, with a soft but strong voice marked by an archaic if cultured accent.

For a few moments Rider stood silent, keeping her sword low while fixing her eyes on the enemy Servant. She fought the temptation to charge in, and crush him underfoot, something that grew more and more difficult as she realized she couldn't quite read her enemy beyond the fact that he was resolutely standing in her way.

Was he eager to fight?

How far would he go if they fought?

What style or inclinations in combat did he have?

What did he think of her?

Did he see her as a threat?

A worthy opponent?

An annoyance?

A mere triviality?

So many questions, and yet she couldn't get any answers by just looking at him. That much was clear, and it brought with it a realization that this one was a worthy opponent, the cool and calm confidence of this Servant just as much proof of it as Lancer's all-but-tangible bloodlust.

That she couldn't read him made the temptation increasingly stronger, spiking at the realization that _this_ , **_he_** was the strongest of Caster's defenses, a Servant of their own to hold the weak point of their stronghold. She didn't know how a Servant could have summoned another Servant, nor did she particularly care, and yet there he was.

Maybe…just maybe…it was the time to let loose?

"Who are you?" Rider growled.

"Servant Assassin," the man replied. "Sasaki Kojiro."

Behind her mask, Rider's eyes widened, caught completely off-guard by Assassin revealing his true identity. And then, slightly lowering her head, she shook and growled softly in frustration. She had wanted to keep it concealed a bit longer, but chivalry demanded she respond in kind, with her own true identity.

It was galling to be outmaneuvered, but she couldn't not follow what her code demanded of her. Above all else, she was still a knight after all, and the only one to surpass the famed King of Knights herself.

At the end of the day, she was after all, still her father's son.

"Very well," she said sullenly. "As you have revealed yourself, chivalry demands I must do the same. Servant Assassin, I am…"

Assassin closed his eyes and shook his head as the first segments of armor plating began to unfold, providing space and unlocking mechanisms to open her helmet and withdraw her mask. "That's unnecessary." He said. "I was rude, and I apologize for that. I did not intend to force you to reveal who you are against your will."

The mechanisms of Rider's armor ceased to operate, and after another moment, they returned to their previous state. Assassin smiled, and raising his sword pointed it at Rider. "Besides," he said. "For those such as ourselves, our swords should be enough to prove our identities, is it not?"

Behind her mask, Rider grinned, and she laughed loud and hard. Taking her sword in both hands, she held it in a low guard to her right. "Indeed," she said. "I accept your apologies, Assassin. I wonder though, if that class is perhaps unworthy of you."

"Perhaps," Assassin said, bringing his sword up to head level, pointed at Rider as he took his stance.

Rider's grin grew wider. " _Who'd have thought the chance to go all out would come so soon?_ " she thought joyfully.

For several moments, the two Servants stood in their stances, waiting for the other to make the first move. A breeze briefly stirred up the leaves around them, but neither Servant made a move, even as the wind died down and dry leaves settled down on the ground. Finally, Rider spoke.

"It seems I have yet to introduce myself, haven't I?" she said. "I am Rider. And I shall be your end!"

Assassin's eyes flew wide as stone broke beneath Rider's feet, prana burst quickly closing the distance between them. And yet, moving by instinct, Assassin's sword moved to block, barely parrying before moving to parry the follow-up.

Undeterred, Rider pressed the offensive, hammering at Assassin's guard with powerful, two-handed blows from the flanks and overhead, keeping close to take advantage of her shorter weapon. Pressed hard, Assassin gave way, falling back step by step as he blocked Rider's onslaught. His smile had gone, and his face was like ice, filled with cold resolve to stand and fight.

Rider noticed and grinned. The man was good, to be able to keep up with her speed and strength, though part of that came with trading space.

 _How long can he keep this up?_

 _I certainly hope he can hold up for longer than most._

Despite that thought, when Rider saw an opportunity, she took it. And that opportunity came with a misstep on Assassin's part, and opening up a chink in his guard.

"I've got you!" she shouted in triumph, bringing down her sword in a two-handed blow, only for Assassin to step to one side…and now it was Rider wide open. Behind her mask, her eyes widened in shock and surprise, and then they narrowed as she hissed in frustration.

Steel flashed in the Moonlight as Assassin stabbed low forward, and then swept out to the right. Rider dodged, but was forced to give up much of the ground she'd taken. Assassin swept down, striking powerful two-handed blows of his own that staggered Rider before she rallied with a cry.

Forcing Assassin back a step with sheer strength, she swung two powerful, two-handed downward strikes…and which Assassin coolly avoided. " _That's impossible!_ " Rider thought, narrowly avoiding Assassin's counterattack as he swung at torso level.

Again, Rider was forced to fall back, Assassin moving hard in pursuit. Rider's eyes widened as Assassin moved even faster than before, launching fast and powerful swings that took extra effort than expected to block and counter.

Growling in frustration, Rider crossed blades with Assassin, sparks grinding between them as they stared at each other over their swords. And then Assassin blinked, briefly glancing to the side, Rider's eyes widening in surprise yet again as his strength didn't so much as waver despite his divided attention.

"You are a distraction." He observed, and Rider grinned.

"Maybe," she admitted. "So what if I am? Going to try and run to go after those things?"

Assassin just smiled. "My duty is to protect that gate behind us." He said, disengaging and swinging a couple of times, all blows blocked by Rider. "So long as they do not attempt to pass through, they are not my responsibility."

"I see." Rider said as she blocked both of Assassin's swings before riposting a third.

"And even if they do," Assassin said as he blocked Rider's riposte and the follow up. "I have my hands full here, with an enemy Servant. I can hardly turn my back on you, and be cut down, allowing you passage."

"Better to tie me down, and let your Master handle those things, is it?" Rider demanded as she and Assassin exchanged blows and crossed each other's swords several times, no doubt appearing as near-invisible blurs to ordinary eyes had they been watching.

"Pick your battles." Assassin said with a smile, as he and Rider locked swords yet again. And then moving a hand from the hilt, he held it against the dull side of his sword and pushed _hard_.

Caught by surprise, Rider was forced back with a cry, down to a landing below. Growling with anger, she quickly regained her footing but by then Assassin was sweeping down, sword held high in one hand.

Swinging up, he grabbed the hilt with both hands, and swung down. Growling, Rider parried before counterattacking, Assassin blocking while stepping to the side.

Now both on the landing, the two Servants moved in a circle while exchanging blows, the surrounding air ringing with the sound of steel against steel, sparks flashing brightly every so often as edges ground against each other. Coming full circle, Assassin with his back to the temple above and Rider to the mountain road below, the two Servants crossed blades, matching eyes across matched steel.

For a moment, the stalemate endured, and then smiling Assassin suddenly gave way, and throwing Rider off-balance. Assassin was quick to take advantage, a two-handed swing forcing a cursing Rider back to the landing's edge, the masked Servant going to guard against Assassin's follow up.

It didn't come.

Instead, Assassin settled into his stance, sword held two-handed at head-level. Rider's eyes widened in surprise, and then narrowed in expectation.

 _He's planning something. Something I could and should preempt._

 _But…_

 _…I don't want to._

 _I want to see it…and break it._

Behind her mask Rider smiled, and Assassin narrowed his eyes. "Your posture speaks of confidence." He said. "And you have reason to be. Truly your strength and speed are worthy of Heroic Spirits such as ourselves."

"I'm flattered, really, I am." Rider shot back. "But enough talk, get on with whatever it is you're planning to do."

Assassin narrowed his eyes, and briefly closed them. "Very well," he said. "Truth be told, I was always waiting for a chance to use this technique from the very beginning of our battle, so I thank you for not preempting me."

"Technique?" Rider echoed. "What?"

Assassin didn't reply, instead his eyes seemingly distant, as though focused on something only he could see and hear, and yet remained intensely focused on Rider. "Secret Technique," he said softly. "Tsubame Gaeshi!"

Rider's eyes widened as three strokes swung at her from three different directions _simultaneously_ , her shout of alarmed surprise piercing the night.

* * *

Corposant flickered over scales and chitin plates as the Children clambered up the slopes of Mount Enzo, between the trees and over the rocks in the light of the Moon. Centuries-old Matou mysteries struggled against the mystery which protected the approaches to Ryuudo Temple, the former trying to find the gaps in the latter, exploit them, and adapt their concepts accordingly.

Snarling and growling, the Children reached the temple walls, and threw themselves over them to land on the stony floor of the temple grounds. Eyes blinked as they regarded their surroundings, tongues flicking out and nostrils dilating and expanding as they sampled the air.

Nothing…

…nothing and no one seemed to be present to witness or meet their coming, and yet the Children stayed wary. Instinct warned them they stood on an alpha's territory, and their mother's thoughts nudged them that a hostile response would come, sooner or later.

Shambling or crawling forward warily, the Children came to a halt shortly as they sensed movement. Silhouetted against the light of the Moon, strange, skeletal shapes appeared, clambering up the roofs of temple buildings to regard the Children below.

The Children paused, an air of surprise and confusion coming from their twisted bodies. The creatures…they weren't alive. No blood or ichor or heartbeat drove them. No emotion, no instinct, no spirit.

Nothing that could be sensed from another living thing, something that could trigger a response from the Children's animalistic instincts, or direct their crude, bestial intelligences in one direction or another.

They could sense the prana that kept the constructs going, and yet, they found themselves frozen in indecision. The mysteries that birthed them and were woven through their forms identified the Dragon Tooth Warriors as enemies, but the Children's animal instincts were confused, uncertain as to what they were.

And in indecision, there was opportunity.

Hollow howls echoing in the night, Dragon Tooth Warriors jumped down, crude swords swinging. They bounced off chitin and scale, but harmless as they were their attacks did not go unregistered. Unable to miss the challenge or the threat at being swarmed and struck, the Children howled and screamed before meeting them head on.

Fragments of bone flew through the air, accompanied by bestial snarls, growls, and roars, along with the thunder of heavy feet striking the ground. Disdaining using their more esoteric abilities against things which dared challenge them but could pose no real threat, the Children made use of their physical attributes instead, claws, pincers, fangs and the like tearing through the ranks of the Dragon Tooth Warriors.

More came from around the temple buildings, flowing like a tide against the Children. Undeterred, the Children advanced from two sides of the temple grounds to the main building, simply plowing a path of destruction through the ranks of Caster's constructs along their way.

But even as they stomped towards the main building, reality seemed to spiral and tear inwards before them, a cloaked and hooded woman appearing out of nowhere as reality smoothed out around her. "Well," Caster said with a conceding note in her voice. "The strategy you used was basic, if effective. Use Rider to draw Assassin away, and then strike at me from the flanks."

Caster paused, and then smiled, the sultry smile strangely sinister in the Moonlight. "These creations of mine aren't really meant to take the likes of…whatever you are," she continued as more Dragon Tooth Warriors closed ranks before her. "So while they have their uses, dealing with you…is not one of them."

Despite her words though, Caster gestured immediately afterwards, her Dragon Tooth Warriors howling hollowly as they charged. The Children roared before meeting the charge, the sound of breaking bone and air swishing from body movements echoing even as Caster raised a hand protectively over her face, and to mask a displeased expression.

" _What are you?_ " she thought, moments before one of the Children broke through, and charged at her.

Caster rolled her eyes and gestured with a hand, blood and gore fountaining away from her as a mangled corpse fell onto its back. "Crude," Caster said. "Chimeras, yes, that's what they are. The product of animals breeding with a Phantasmal Species…but which ones? I also perceive the presence of alchemical modification, crude if deep and effective…but for what purpose? Or did you simply breed them for war, little magus?"

As though in response, one of the other Children smashed aside several Dragon Tooth Warriors, and opened its maw in Caster's direction. For a moment Caster looked unimpressed, but then her eyes widened as green light built inside and lightning flickered around its jaw.

 _What?_

With a hiss of evaporating liquid and the crack of displaced air, a glowing green sphere shot at lightning-fast speeds from the Child's mouth, and forcing the surprised Caster to dodge to one side. It struck the front of the main temple building, and completely destroyed the doorway along with a good chunk of the surrounding structure.

"Troublesome…" Caster muttered before gesturing. Lightning blasted out from one hand and literally fried the Child who'd attacked, foul-smelling smoke wafting into the air as flesh burned and chitin cracked and broke, the monster screaming in agony as it died.

The other hand rose and raised a shield, which blew a flanking Child back. More of the Children were pouncing now, forcing Caster to stay afloat in the air, literally dancing though the Children's ranks as she slipped around and past them.

Beams of light shot from her fingers as she slipped by, punching through chitin and flesh and leaving bloody, gaping wounds behind. The pain only served to provoke the Children further though, causing them to move faster and quicker as they sought to close the distance between them and their prey, and rend them to pieces.

Caster narrowed her eyes as she continued to fight her opposition, though calling it 'fight' was rather inaccurate. Truth be told, she was barely breaking a sweat, just toying with them really. Surprisingly enough, she was actually enjoying 'playing' with these things, which quickly turned surprise and enjoyment to annoyance and irritation at her own apparent frivolity.

 _I have better things to do with my time than deal with trash like this._

 _Still…_

What caused her to narrow her eyes was the sight of several monsters devouring the carcasses of those of their kind that had already fallen, causing their flesh and plating to twist and bulge and reshape themselves, even in the midst of battle. " _They devour their own kind to boost their physical attributes, perhaps even taking on those of their kind that they've consumed?_ " Caster asked to herself. " _That's probably it, but I think there's more to it than just that._ "

Caster's thoughts paused and she frowned slightly in disgust. " _Disgusting things,_ " she thought. " _And what a disgusting means to gain greater strength. Surely there are better, cleaner ways to do so? Or…is it…?_ "

Caster made a sound of disgust as she avoided one of the Children's fists which punched a crater into the floor, and then deftly avoided a volley of poisoned spines fired from one of the Children. It had _opened_ its back, exposing wet flesh and bone, pale sacs spitting out white fluid that hardened as they flew through the air while dripping with the monster's poisonous fluids.

 _I…need to…find out what was used to make these things, and how they work._

 _Who knows? It might come in useful._

 _But first…_

 _…let's thin out the herd._

Caster smiled, feinting and allowing one of the Children to strike her with its scorpion-like tail. The moment before it struck though, Caster teleported herself high above the temple, and with a gesture opened an array of magic circles around her, ominously bathing her with their light.

The Children snarled in frustration and defiance after a moment of confusion, before picking up her scent or spotting her above. Caster smiled wider and made another gesture, purple beams lancing down and ripping the helpless monsters apart.

"You're going to need to do better than that, little one." She said mockingly, before a fusillade of white beams shot at her from around her.

Rolling and spinning through the air to avoid the initial barrage and their follow up, Caster growled and looked around. It didn't take long to find the source of the beams, small beetles with glowing, jewel-like carapaces that charged and fired the beams.

 _No, not beams: lightning._

It took only a moment to understand how they did it: they collected water from the air, and splitting it into its components used them to power their lightning bolts. Each individual beetle's bolt was weak, barely enough to leave a welt if she had to guess, but by observing the volleys they fired she noticed them concentrating five beetles' bolts into a single, more powerful blast that would almost certainly punch into her body.

Depending on how deep it went, or where it struck, she could be killed.

Still…it was a cheap trick, if an effective one, using the water in the air to fuel lightning and directing them by means of magic. After all, left on its own, lightning would just seek the easiest path to the ground, and likely avoid a target.

 _I will not be made sport of!_

Righting herself, Caster cast a bubble-like barrier which blocked the lightning blasts, before clapping her hands loudly. The resulting thunderclap sent out a visible shockwave of displaced air, and blew the beetles apart.

But then a shadow fell on Caster from behind, and she turned in surprise.

 _What?_

It was…gigantic, between eight to twelve feet in height were it standing on the ground. It was armored with dark-green plates of chitin, with reptilian legs and four arms, the latter terminating in Human-like, five-fingered thumbed hands, each of which clutched a crude sword of bone that vibrated at supersonic speeds, their roar painful even to her ears.

The monster's head was protected by an armored crest that sloped back and past its head, its fanged maw dripping with saliva. Three golden, reptilian eyes leered at her, the creature seemingly hovering in the air like a hummingbird on four dragonfly-like wings.

 _How…?_

Caster's eyes widened in surprise and narrowed in realization as she saw the beetles around the beast, and that they had concealed it from her on approach.

 _Was that whole scuffle on the ground a distraction then?_

 _Rider attacking, and then those damn things…all to get me up here?_

 _I was manipulated…again? Me? ME? **ME**?_

 _I WILL NOT BE MADE A FOOL OF!_

 _NEVER AGAIN!_

The creature roared, rapidly crossing and uncrossing its swords at Caster. Her shield held, but the inertia sent her flying to land hard against the ground.

Skidding back across the temple grounds, Caster glared up at the sky, her hood blown back and exposing her beautiful, elfin features, not even close to being marred by her angry expression. Meanwhile. one of the surviving Children had jumped on a roof and from there to another roof and then to a third, before jumping down at Caster.

Without a word or gesture, a large magic circle appeared in its path, the Child falling into it but not out the other side. A moment later, and the circle vanished as well.

" _One living specimen should be enough for now._ " Caster thought before being forced to dodge another blast of green energy that blew a crater behind her. " _I've had enough!_ "

Again, reality tore as Caster teleported into the sky, behind the beast. Before it could react Caster again unleashed the Rain of Light, tearing its dorsal armor to pieces and punching bloody wounds deep into the monster's body, and sending it plummeting from the sky to land with a crash on the ground.

A gesture, and the beetles ignited, falling as sparks from the sky.

Another gesture, and a magic circle appeared, spinning slowly, before Caster. Summoning her staff, she held it two-handed and pressed its tip against the circle, which flashed and spun quicker.

Two words in Greek sent a blinding blast of light that gutted the beast on the ground, the mortally-wounded creature gurgling and convulsing before finally stilling in death. Howling in dismay, the remaining Children broke and fled, Caster letting them leave as a gesture of contempt at Rider's Master.

And speaking of Rider…

Caster narrowed her eyes, considering intervening, but ultimately decided to leave the knight to Assassin. In the meantime, she had to clean up the mess the battle had left. Still…the message had been sent.

 _Don't get above yourself, little magus._

 _I might have fallen far and hard, but you're still no match for me._

 _None of you are._

* * *

A/N

K.O.! Winner: Caster Medea!

Caster: (victory pose) Children should stay at home and just quietly drink their milk, and leave business to the grownups.

Ahem…Assassin vs Rider will conclude next chapter. Lancer should also make an appearance. Now then, how will Zouken take this setback?


	19. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Transposition

Chapter 18

What little light there was in the tunnel glinted off metal and fluids of various kinds, a red spear flickering in a complex pattern as it cut through a set of wildly-flailing tentacles. And then, pressing the initiative, Lancer severed the entire set of tentacles from the rest of the monster's body, and in an upward stroke split it into two.

The monster fell, letting out a pitiful cry as it died. Undaunted, Lancer advanced, his spear flourished overhead as he let out an Irish war cry and trampled the monster's remains under his feet. Others more like it littered the tunnel behind, and more of them waited up ahead.

A monster spat a glowing green sphere at Lancer, only to explode harmlessly against the Servant as runes daubed by Lancer on his torso briefly glowed before dulling. It didn't even faze Lancer a bit, leaping forward and using his spear to anchor himself to the ground. A kick threw the monster back, and then Lancer pulled his spear in and up, shearing the monster's head off.

More monsters charged in, from the front and back, vaguely reptilian in appearance if scuttling on six, insect-like legs. Arms ended in wicked, scythe-like things, bone or chitin or whatever they were made from cutting at the air as they rushed Lancer.

The tunnel was wide thankfully, no doubt to allow modern maintenance vehicles – albeit small ones – passage when needed. In this case, it allowed Lancer to utilize his spear to a greater extent than would expected in such a confined space.

Snarling in frustration and battle fury, Lancer took the initiative, skewering three monsters before ripping his spear free. Drawing it back, he slammed the butt against the ground and using it to anchor himself flipped through the air to land atop a monster behind him, and crushing it into the ground.

The spear arced around Lancer as he carved up the closest monsters, and then advanced after having secured his back. Roaring his war cry, Lancer charged, skewering two monsters in front and pierced their ranks. Ripping his spear free, Lancer cut down another monster behind him before dodging one then two blows from the second.

Metal flashed and the monster flinched back as Lancer cut a gash across its face, and then it stilled and gurgled before dying as Lancer flourished his spear and stabbed the monster from below its head. Pulling his lance free of the corpse, Lancer looked around in the darkness, and then after a moment held out a finger.

Unearthly light glowed as he wrote a series of runes in the air, the symbols flashing once as he finished and then curving back, began to orbit a small sphere of light. Angry snarls could be heard from further down the tunnel, and with a gesture Lancer threw his light in its direction.

Shadows flared, lengthened, and vanished as the light sped down the corridor, and then angry snarls turned to ferocious howls as the light entered a gallery of some sort and sped up, casting the gallery below in wan light. Crouching down slightly, Lancer sped forward in a blur, and then leaping through the gallery entrance took long strides into the chamber before jumping up, toward the gently-sloping ceiling, and grabbing hold of a pipe looked down and around the chamber.

It was a junction of some sort, a cluster of pipes running down one side of the wall from the center of the dome-like ceiling, and passing through a large, rectangular block vanished into the ground. More pipes ran horizontally at knee-height on the other side of the room, and through several smaller metal boxes before vanishing into the wall.

What really caught Lancer's attention were all the sacs of twisted flesh across the room, recessed into the stone construction. Vague shapes could be seen inside, and Lancer could see the remains of other sacs, stinking and festering in the enclosed space as the fleshy matter they were made from rotted away.

The sacs were largely on the floor, while others were recessed into the walls. Others hung down from the ceiling on twisted, rope-like strands of flesh, squirming unpleasantly. " _This is a nest._ " Lancer thought in disgust. " _A nest of abominations, that is._ "

One sac was quite close to Lancer, and it squirmed and jiggled unpleasantly. Feeling his stomach turn, Lancer cut it open with a swing.

Pale fluid spilled out, along with looked like a Human fetus…if Humans had no noses and simply had slits for nostrils, along with limbs ending in tentacles. Its eyes were pure black, with no eyelids or visible irises.

It mewled piteously as it fell, striking the ground in a wet slap. The sights and sounds made Lancer regret what he'd done, if only because it made his stomach take another turn for the worse. " _I don't know whether or not to hate Kirei for making me do this._ " Lancer thought in disgust. " _On one hand, this place – and others like it – needs to be stamped out and burned, which I'm more than happy to do. On the other hand, this place is disgusting._ "

Lancer blinked as angry, territorial snarls echoed from below, and he looked down. There were four of them, ape-like things covered all over with overlapping scales, with no visible eyes but with fanged mouths. They clustered around the remains of the…thing, that he'd cut out of a nearby sac.

 _Almost as if…_

 _…ah, I see. Not happy I killed one of them eh? Don't care; I'll kill each and every one of these things that I come across._

Smirking to himself, Lancer glanced at the sacs hanging down from the ceiling, and sprang from his side of the wall to the other. As he leaped through the air, his spear flashed, cutting through the…ropes, that held the sacs to the ceiling.

They plummeted, smashing against the ground and spilling sticky fluid while the creatures inside thrashed and convulsed before dying. The creatures – some sort of nest guardian probably – snarled and roared in anger, running up against the walls and struggling to get to Lancer.

Lancer just smirked, and gestured at the guardians. They pawed and struggled to climb against the wall, and then to Lancer's surprise one of them ran to the other side of the room, and used the pipes running up to the ceiling to clamber up to Lancer's level.

 _Smart, aren't you?_

The guardian roared a challenge at Lancer as they both tensed, and then leapt through the air at each other. Ichor fountained as Lancer stabbed the guardian through the mouth, his spear running through its body nearly lengthwise before emerging dripping from its back.

The two of them slammed against the ground, the guardian dead and its pack mates closing in. Snarling in his turn, Lancer abandoned his spear and dove back as one of the guardians brought down its fists with a roar and crushed its pack mate's corpse.

Flipping back a couple of times, Lancer hissed in displeasure at temporarily losing his weapon, but then a shadow loomed down from behind. With a roar, another guardian attempted to attack from the rear, only for Lancer to dance to one side and then in close.

A fist buried itself into the guardian's belly, scales breaking as Lancer's fist sank into the soft flesh beneath. A split second later and Lancer's free hand shot up, more scales breaking as Lancer crushed a grip beneath the guardian's chin.

Roaring, Lancer hurled the guardian at one of its pack mates, and knocking both of them away. And then, leaping forward he jumped off their bodies and over and past the last guardian to land next to the fallen guardian's mangled corpse.

" _Oh no…this is fucking disgusting…I'm washing this when I get back, and to hell with the priest's comments._ " Lancer thought in disgust as he felt the slime and ichor coating his weapon.

He didn't have much more time to think on that though, as the closest guardian was charging in. Flicking as much slime as he could off his spear, Lancer backed off initially, spinning and flourishing his spear before dancing in. Two strokes carved through the guardian's legs, and Lancer danced back as it toppled forward.

Another flourish, and then Lancer stabbed the guardian in the head.

Pulling the spear back, Lancer glanced sideways twice and then dove forward, rolling to turn in a crouch. The remaining guardians had tried to flank him, but Lancer's dodge had caused them to pounce at each other instead, the two guardians slamming into each other loud and hard, and causing them to fall, dazed and shaken against the ground.

…and offered Lancer an opportunity.

Red metal flashed and a guardian screamed as a foot was rendered useless. Quick footwork avoided a counterattack by the other guardian, with Lancer's counter cutting a gash across its chest. As it staggered forward, Lancer dodged to the side, and dancing past cut its right leg open before arriving behind the guardian.

Red metal flashed again as Lancer stabbed the guardian from the back, the spear punching through to emerge dripping from the guardian's chest. Lancer pulled it back, and swung, shearing the back of its neck open.

Howling in agony, the guardian collapsed, Lancer stepping past even as he quickly stabbed the guardian in the head, and putting it out of its misery.

The last guardian struggled to back away from Lancer, whining piteously, and Lancer came to a halt. He cracked his neck, and sighed.

"Sorry," he said, surprisingly sympathetic. "But I have to do this."

 _No, it's not sympathy. It's pity._

 _Poor bastards, but we can't leave these…things, on their own. Even I know that much._

With a shouted war cry, Lancer jumped up, flipped through the air and landed onto the guardian's back, sinking into a crouch as he buried his spear through its head to emerge dripping from below the chin. The guardian stiffened and then stilled, slumping to the ground in death.

For a couple of moments, Lancer stayed silent and still, and then with a sigh, rose and pulled his spear free. He glanced around him a few times, and narrowed his nose in distaste.

The heat of battle had driven it from his mind, but now that the battle was done, the disgust of where he was returned. Worse, many of the sacs were squirming in agitation, the monsters inside seemingly provoked by the death of the guardians.

 _Right, let's get this done and get out of here. I still have to tell that damn priest about this, and I hope he's got a plan on how to deal with this._

 _There's probably more nests like this somewhere out there, and we have to get them all._

 _But, with that said, finding and stamping them out one by one is going to be a pain._

Lancer scowled at the thought, and at the knowledge this would only result in more jokes about his name. " _Damn that priest and his 'friend'._ " Lancer thought in disgust as he wrote more runes in the air.

Flames ignited with a whoosh and spread quickly, alarms elsewhere beginning to scream as fire consumed the guardians' bodies, the sacs, and the remains of the monsters. Lancer walked away unconcerned, knowing the flames he'd set would die once they'd done what they were supposed to do, that is consume the monsters' bodies and ensure no real trace of them would be left.

And he'd left quite a bit of bodies lying around on the way here.

 _I might have to start more fires that just this._

* * *

Steel rang and a woman's shout pierced the night, followed by the sound of steel clattering irregularly against stone.

Rider fell, tumbling down the stairs to a lower landing. She recovered in but a moment, rolling back and up to her feet, crouched and with her sword held protectively before her.

And across her torso, the steel plate of her armor was marred by a single gash that carved through the metal. Any deeper and it would have cut through the rough cloth underneath and then the flesh below.

"I'm impressed." Assassin remarked from above with a respectful expression on his face. "You blocked two out of three strikes. But…"

Assassin trailed off, his eyes narrowing as they focused on the gash through Rider's torso armor. "The third should have connected." He said. "No, it did connect. It's just that you were standing close to the edge of this landing, and when the force of the other strikes was transferred to your body, it threw you back, and kept the third strike from striking true."

"Nothing wrong with being lucky." Rider remarked before narrowing her eyes behind her mask. "Tsubame Gaeshi…"

Rider trailed off and laughed. "Don't worry, I'm not mocking you." She said afterwards. "I'm mocking myself, you see."

"Oh?"

"If anyone had told me about Tsubame Gaeshi before I experienced it for myself, I'd have laughed at the notion that nothing but pure skill could be a Noble Phantasm in itself." Rider said with a shrug. "After all, Noble Phantasms are the embodiment of our legends, usually taking the form of our swords, armor, or sometimes even magic spells."

Rider paused and grinned. "Even though I knew what I know now after you revealed your identity," she said. "That it reaches into the realms of True Magic, that 'Multi-Dimension Refraction Phenomenon' or something that allows you to strike three times from three directions all at the same time…"

Rider paused and laughed. "Yes," she said with a nod. "In hindsight I can see how just skill with the sword can become a Noble Phantasm in itself."

Assassin smiled and briefly closing his eyes, lowered his face. "Rest assured, I take no offense." He said. "And I am honored that you acknowledge my skill. But if I am honest, I simply wanted to catch the sparrow."

Rider stayed silent as Assassin paused, looking up into the night sky. "It's just that the sparrow can sense the changes in the wind, and change its path instantly." He said. "To catch up, all its routes have to be cut off…at the same time…"

Assassin trailed off, the two Servants staying silent for several moments before Assassin sighed. "I had cursed myself you know," he said. "Being summoned into this filthy world, but…"

Assassin paused to turn back to Rider. "To be able to use my secret technique against a worthy opponent," he said. "It makes it all this worthwhile, even if none other were as worthy as you."

"Do you really think there aren't?" Rider challenged.

"I do not know." Assassin replied. "With that said, you are Rider, are you not? The three Servant Knights are supposed to be superior to you."

"And yet you're an Assassin," Rider shot back, ignoring the implied jibe at her class. "And thus supposed to be inferior to me."

Assassin just smiled and gave a small nod of acknowledgement. "The point is well made." He conceded.

Rider grinned wider and tensed. "Shall we continue then?" she asked.

Assassin briefly closed his eyes before looking away. "Tempting," he said. "But it would be pointless at this point, wouldn't you say?"

"What?"

"Your Master's attack on the temple has failed." Assassin said. "The survivors have fled. There's no point in continuing this battle. But,"

Assassin paused, turning back to Rider and narrowing his eyes. "If you wish to continue," he said. "Then come. As I told you before, my responsibility is to keep enemies from passing through the gate behind us. Come then, and let us finish this battle."

Rider stood silent and still, and after a moment, Assassin continued. "But," he said. "It's too soon, don't you think, to fight to the death? The war is well underway, but things have yet to truly step up. There's no need to rush, is there?"

Rider stayed as she was a moment longer, and then with a sigh relaxed. "I suppose you have a point." She reluctantly admitted. "Why rush when you can take the time and savor fighting worthy opponents over the course of the war?"

Assassin smiled, only for Rider to point her sword at him. "Just remember," she said. "You owe me a battle. Until you can you pay your debt, don't you dare get yourself killed by someone else."

Assassin nodded. "I look forward to it then." He said, before half-turning away with a nod. Rider nodded back, and after a few moment staring at each other Rider vanished into astral form. Assassin smiled wider before turning back to the temple gates, and climbing up likewise vanished into astral form after a few steps.

* * *

"The operation failed."

Shinji glanced sideways, towards where Rin was sitting behind her desk. The chair was turned to face the window so he couldn't see her face, but from the sound of things, she didn't seem concerned in any way at all.

 _You could even say it sounds as though she expected this to happen._

 _Why?_

 _And if so, why launch this operation regardless?_

Shinji narrowed his eyes. " _Going through the motions to satisfy the worm's demands to drive Caster from the mountain? Or…_ " Shinji thought before speaking up. "What do you plan to do after this?"

Rin didn't reply at once, instead getting up to walk closer to the windows, and looking out into the night. "I had hoped for a success." She said. "Maybe not Caster being defeated, but at least driven from the temple. But, I also knew the temple was her stronghold, and thus a battlefield that would favor her."

"So, you hoped for success, but expected failure, is that it?"

"As you say,"

Shinji briefly looked away in thought, before sighing and getting up. "And?" he prompted.

"The operation did fail," Rin said, turning to face Shinji. "But it's no big loss either. Rider safely retreated, and the Children that were killed – including the Alpha of all things – can be easily replaced. And…"

"And?"

"Lessons and vital information were obtained during the battle." Rin said, stepping around her desk to sit closer to Shinji. "For one thing, we now have field data to develop a resistance or even immunity to the bounded field around Mount Enzo. The way the battle with Caster progressed also provided useful information on optimal paths for future evolutions of the Children. And now we also know who the last Master is: Caster herself."

Shinji looked surprised. "Is that even possible?" he asked.

"Given she summoned Assassin," Rin said. "It clearly is."

"True," Shinji admitted. "And the Assassin? Anything about him?"

Rin burst out laughing at that, but calmed after several moments. "Sorry," she said. "I couldn't resist. He seems to be an archetypal samurai, all 'swords are all that is needed between worthy opponents' or something of that sort, and actually introduced himself by his true name."

"That's not necessarily a bad thing, you know." Shinji said reprovingly.

Rin gave him a slight glare but relented in a moment. "True," she said. "While it's very…fantastic, were people more…honorable or…virtuous, and genuinely so at that, the world would probably be a better place. But sadly, it's not."

Rin paused, her eyes narrowing at broken promises and sweet lies masking bitter and poisonous intent. "It's definitely not." She said.

Shinji didn't reply at first, instead looking away in melancholy contemplation of Rin's words before another thought occurred to him. "Wait, what about Rider?" he said. "Did she…?"

"No, her identity's uncompromised." Rin said. "Though it nearly was; as you suspect, after Assassin identified himself, Rider – in the spirit of chivalry – almost revealed who she really was. Thankfully for us though, Assassin realized he may have pressured Rider unintentionally, and absolved her of responsibility to return his introduction in kind."

"How noble of him."

Rin's lips twitched with amusement but she didn't say anything more. "Still," Shinji continued. "While it's expected – and surprising – considering who Rider is and what she once was, it could prove problematic in the future."

"No," Rin disagreed. "Her identity getting out is inevitable, one way or another, so I'll leave it to her discretion when and where to reveal it. I'll trust her with that much, and besides, I don't want to push either. She's not happy about the Children, and while neither of us are either, even so…"

Silence fell between the two siblings, thickening the air around them for several moments as they brooded on the path they'd laid out for themselves in the hope of victory. Largely by Rin yes, but Shinji had contributed his fair share, despite his greater misgivings about the whole project.

 _We're both responsible for what we did to our own, and what they've done for us afterwards._

Shinji took a deep breath, and turned back to Rin. "So," he began. "Going back to Assassin, who is he?"

"Sasaki Kojiro."

Shinji's eyes bulged. "Sasaki Kojiro?" he echoed incredulously. "As in the rival of the legendary Miyamoto Musashi? That Kojiro?"

"The one and only apparently," Rin said with a grin. "And yes, his Noble Phantasm is nothing less than the legendary Tsubame Gaeshi."

Rin paused to chuckle before leaning back with an expression of awe on her face. "Rider showed me." She said. "It was _beautiful_. A true miracle, there's no question about it. With nothing more than his own skill with the sword and a lifetime of practice, Assassin was able to surpass the limitations of the World and achieved the Multi-Dimension Refraction Phenomenon."

"That's an aspect of the Second Magic."

"Yes, it is." Rin confirmed. "And that's how he did it. That's how he caught the sparrow in mid-flight. He cut his target with three strikes from three different directions all at the same time."

Shinji smiled and nodded in agreement. "Hard to think someone who isn't even a magus in the remotest sense of the word could achieve something so profound as True Magic, or at least an aspect of it." He said.

"True," Rin said with a shrug. "Though, you could say Assassin's single-minded pursuit of his goal isn't too different from ours either."

"Also true." Shinji agreed, the siblings sharing a shrug between them. Afterwards though, Shinji looked slightly concerned. "I wonder though, how Caster was able to summon a Servant."

"I'm not too sure myself either." Rin said. "Though I have my suspicions."

"Oh?"

"Well, for one thing who is the most powerful magus in this city?"

"Point."

"And on another note," Rin said. "Caster is a magus herself. In fact, that's the defining trait of the class. And as magi, they qualify for Masters."

Shinji nodded after a moment's thought. "That's true," he said. "Though, that still leaves the question of where they got command spells from."

"Two possibilities," Rin said. "The first is that Caster was summoned early, before other Servants were, and the Grail granted her command spells among other would-be Masters."

"That's certainly possible." Shinji agreed. "And the other possibility?"

"Caster, being superior to any magus of the modern era, killed her Master as soon as or soon after she was summoned." Rin said coldly, and causing Shinji's eyes to widen in surprise. "And after their death, stole their command spells for her own."

"But, without a Master she…"

"Servants require a Master as a reliable source of prana." Rin interrupted. "But the Caster being magi themselves would know how to find alternative and reliable sources of prana on their own. Prana is after all, the key to all magic. Without it, we can't use our mysteries, and thus finding and getting it is a basic skill for magi."

"I see." Shinji said with narrowed eyes. "If the latter then, Caster is one dangerous enemy."

"And now we've challenged her." Rin said before shrugging. "Still, she seems content to let us back off with just a warning, if her actions immediately after the battle are any indication. If nothing else, it gives us time to prepare a new plan on how to deal with her. Grandfather does want her off the mountain after all."

Shinji nodded before stepping closer. "About that," he said. "We could just order Rider to blow the mountaintop off in a single shot."

"Tempting," Rin said. "But too dangerous for anything but as an ultimate last resort. Especially since a number of people live there. How Caster managed to get them to look away from her and such is academic, but the point is if we blow the mountaintop clear, those people would likely end up dead."

Rin leaned forward with narrowed eyes. "If that happened," she said. "At best we'd be prioritized by the other Masters, though they likely would get in each other's way. At worst, well, the Caster of the last war was so aggressive that the Overseer actually suspended the contest and put up a command spell as incentive for the Masters to focus against Caster."

Rin tilted her head. "The former will be a massive pain but it's workable." She said. "The latter is outright impossible to resolve."

Rin clenched her fists, but after a few moments she relaxed, and Shinji decided not to press the matter. "So," he said instead. "For now we should regroup our forces, apply what we've learned, and make new plans?"

Rin glanced back at Shinji after a moment, and then smiled. "Pretty much," she said, also while gesturing Shinji to come closer. He did as asked and with a curious expression on his face, only to be pulled into an embrace even as Rin lay down against her desk, her legs spread beneath Shinji.

"But that's for later." Rin whispered into her brother's ear. "Right now, I could use some stress relief."

Shinji swallowed dryly, his nose filled with Rin's scent, and his body heating up expectantly this close to his sister's body. "H-here?" he croaked.

"Haven't you had fantasies about doing it on my desk?"

Shinji didn't answer, instead setting himself to making said fantasies reality.

* * *

"How do you plan to deal with this development?"

"I have yet to make my mind up yet." Caster answered her Master as she returned to her sanctum. "Though, I am inclined to let it go…this time. If Rider's Master decides to let bygones be bygones, then there's no reason to abandon our strategy of the defensive until Berserker is defeated. But should Rider's Master decide to press the issue, then we must of course seize the initiative."

"I see." Souichirou Kuzuki said while stepping out of the darkness. "And what of that monster you captured?"

Caster smiled fondly at her Master. "I'm a magus too." She said. "While I'm not as obsessed with knowledge for its own sake like today's lesser breeds are, I too share their curiosity for arcane secrets."

Caster's expression turned stern. "In this time and age," she began. "Phantasmal Species should no longer exist in this World, and have gone beyond Humanity's reach within the Inner World. And yet those abominations were clearly chimeras, hybrids of mundane animals and one of the Phantasmal Species. But which ones? How? And what was done to them? Those questions among others need answering, and may affect our strategy especially against Rider and her Master."

"I see." Kuzuki said with a nod. "And Tohsaka and Emiya?"

Caster's first response was to deploy her magic sphere, focusing first on Rider's Master though she quickly changed the focus, having no interest in watching a pair of adolescents copulating, and focused on Sakura and Shirou instead. The former was helping an unconscious girl caught in one of Caster's prana-harvesting operations, while the latter was keeping an eye out while Sakura was busy.

"As I said before," she said. "Let the children play. Their interference is trivial, unless they actually decide to seriously challenge us. If they do, then we should put them in their place, Archer and Saber or not. Or indeed,"

Caster paused, smiling a smile as malicious as it was sultry. "It could be an opportunity to obtain better tools than those we already have." She said. "Maybe even replace them as well."

Kuzuki silently looked at his students for several moments, and then nodded slowly. "Very well," he said. "We'll do as you say."

"Yes, Souichirou-sama."

* * *

A/N

Medea is the strongest magus in the Fifth Holy Grail War…and Cu Chulainn comes a close second. It never gets really shown off, outside of his self-cremation in Unlimited Blade Works, but he's that good and knowledgeable in magecraft, specifically rune magic. Indeed, along with Berserker and Lancer, the other class Cu Chulainn is suited for is Caster.


	20. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Transposition

Chapter 19

Kirei walked slowly and quietly into the living room, and after a few steps came to a halt a polite distance from the couch. He stayed quiet, waiting to be addressed by the man lounging on said couch.

The man was blonde, and his eyes sported irises the color of blood. He wore a collared shirt of white under a black, long-sleeved jacket, and matching trousers. In one hand he held a wineglass, idle wrist movements gently swirling the crimson liquid within.

Several moments passed, and then his eyes slightly narrowing, Gilgamesh of Uruk turned slightly towards Kirei. "What is it?" he asked.

"Lancer's finished what I sent him out to do." Kirei replied. "Apparently, the recent wave of disappearances and killings have been the work of chimeras that have taken up shop in the undercity, and they've been preying on the less fortunate citizens of the city for food."

Gilgamesh snorted. "I'll come back to that later." He said with a hint of anger running through his voice. Kirei quirked an eyebrow but decided not to press the issue, lest he be seen as 'insolent'. The King of Heroes tended to have rather pathologically-violent responses to insolence, and unfortunately, his definition of the word was rather…broad.

And the violent response usually involved a Noble Phantasm or two or even more being rammed through your body until you were nothing more than a bloody smear on the ground. A rather gruesome fate, and one Kirei did not wish upon himself.

"What I wish to know is where those chimeras came from." Gilgamesh continued. "Well, speak up Kirei, or do you not have answers for me?"

"The simplest explanation, that the chimeras had always been there is nonsensical." Kirei said. "Chimeras have never been recorded as appearing in this city or region, be it as a matter of historical record or legend. Next, the chimeras just appeared there one way or another, is equally absurd."

"Oh?"

"Chimeras are hybrids." Kirei continued. "They are born of Phantasmal Species and mundane animals. The latter in general do not exist as a matter of course in this world ever since the Age of Gods came to an end, and when they do appear it is a miracle on par with True Magic."

"Get to the point, Kirei." Gilgamesh said with a hint of menace.

"Very well," Kirei said with a bow. "Chimeras would never be naturally born here, as Phantasmal Species that do remain in this world or who had one reason or another to briefly depart the Inner World only remain or do so in the most remote wildernesses, as far as possible from Human habitation."

"In short," Gilgamesh said with an annoyed sigh and wave of a hand. "Someone bred those filthy things in this city, as though it isn't already so filthy as it is."

"As you say, King of Heroes." Kirei said with another bow. "From there the next question is who? There are very few with the resources and means to do so, usually high-ranking magi and their families as well as powerful vampires. However, I believe I can discount the latter. The presence of vampires tends to be rather visible, what with hordes of shambling dead usually turning up within a day of their arrival."

Gilgamesh silently regarded Kirei's words for a moment, and then with nod gestured for Kirei to continue. "So I must assume that magi are behind these chimeras." Kirei continued. "The motivation is rather obvious too, as tools to secure victory in the Holy Grail War. As for the identity of the magi in question, two come to mind from the magi currently present within this city: Einzbern and Matou."

"Not Tohsaka or Caster?"

"Caster likely has the means and perhaps resources even, but their established methods do not support them being the ones behind the chimeras. And Tohsaka does not have the resources for the task, nor is their magecraft suited for it." Kirei said with a smile. "I know that quite well."

Gilgamesh burst out laughing. "Indeed!" he said after a few moments. "Carry on."

"The possibility does exist that other magi beyond the contestants – whose identities I know – themselves are present and could be behind the chimeras," Kirei said. "But as we have no evidence of this, I will disregard the possibility. As for the aforementioned suspects…Einzbern has the resources and means in theory, but it doesn't fit how they usually do things. Indeed, if Einzbern needed more tools than their Servant, they wouldn't use chimeras. They'd send homunculi, who are stronger, faster, and more reliable by comparison. However, that leaves…"

"The Matou…" Gilgamesh said softly and with murderous menace. "How fitting those filthy worm magi would be ones to breed such filth. They're a match for each other."

"If so," Kirei said. "Then the chimeras would be derived in part from the blood worms that the Matou favor as familiars and indeed, make up Zouken Matou's body. Despite appearances, they are Phantasmal Beasts after all. A weak and pathetic species yes, but still Phantasmal Beasts of the Monstrous Rank for all that. And indeed, their possession of such creatures makes them the prime suspect in this matter."

Gilgamesh glanced at Kirei with a veiled expression of surprise at that, and then he relaxed into the couch. "So that accursed disease is behind this?" he asked.

"Indirectly but most likely, yes."

"What?"

"Zouken Matou is old." Kirei said. "And old magi are even more creatures of habit than other old people are. He might use the winged, insectoid evolution of the worms like Kariya Matou did during the previous war, but the chimeras represent an…evolution, of incredible complexity and advancement that would be beyond what Zouken Matou would do on his own."

"Then who?"

"Most likely," Kirei said. "His granddaughter, Rin Matou."

Gilgamesh's eyes narrowed and afterwards he looked away with an expression of disgust. "That discarded child?" he growled. "That which is discarded must be disposed of properly, lest it rot and spread decay around it. How so very much like that worthless fool who commanded that damn Berserker from the previous war, chasing after something that did not and could not exist. And now she would follow that fool's example, chasing and squandering so much for something that isn't hers."

Annoyed, Gilgamesh turned back to Kirei. "What do you plan to do about this, Kirei?" he asked.

"What would you have me do, King of Heroes?"

Gilgamesh snorted. "Earlier I said I would return to the matter of the disappearances and killings." He said. "And so I have. It offends me, Kirei. They are scum, worthless dregs of a Human race already so riddled with and enfeebled by disease, and yet they remain my subjects, no matter unworthy they are of me as they are now. Their lives and their deaths belong to me, not to a worthless, discarded child to be fed to her mongrel pets."

Gilgamesh paused and narrowed his eyes. "So how?" he said. "How will you correct this situation, Kirei? If I must, I will pass judgment in person, but it disturbs my sense of propriety to grant such an honor to a discarded child of all things."

"Then I am to act as your agent in this matter?" Kirei asked with a smile. "I am honored."

Gilgamesh snorted. "As you should be." He said. "Just know that the consequences of failing to meet your responsibilities are…severe."

Kirei bowed in acknowledgement. "I understand, King of Heroes." He said. "As for this matter, I will direct Sakura Tohsaka with appropriate knowledge and guidance so as to bring an end to that which troubles your mind."

"You will not take action yourself?"

"I could, but it would reveal my hand in full prematurely." Kirei said. "It would hamper the effort to complete the Grail should my…guidance, of the contest's conduct to its proper conclusion be noticed at large."

"Certainly," Gilgamesh said after a moment's thought. "Hecklers pressing the playwright tend to ruin what otherwise would be grand spectacles. Very well, I will allow you to employ your own agents in this matter."

"I am grateful, King of Heroes." Kirei said a with bow.

Gilgamesh smiled. "In any case," he said. "I would judge Tokiomi's precious child, whether or not she has the potential to face the final test to determine her worth, or just like her father, is just another mongrel to be burned away with the filth that encrusts this once great and beautiful garden of mine."

"As you say, King of Heroes."

* * *

Tendrils of shadow sped blindingly-fast down a corridor's walls, floors, and ceiling, and stabbed out with three-dimensional spines that struck at the Dragon Tooth Warriors filling the corridor. The spines _hurt_ to look at, shadows simply not meant to fall across open space in such a fashion, but did no damage whatsoever to the constructs they struck.

Though, they were never meant to.

Sakura grinned with triumph and satisfaction as the opal she was holding finally stopped flashing, and glowed steadily in her hand. After several hours and clearing no less than nine – including the one they were in – residential complexes, she'd finally managed to completely identify the conceptual pattern of the mystery Caster used to collect prana from the people they attacked, and thence send to their lair.

 _Now we can do more than just react to their attacks. We can actually take the fight to those cowards._

Sakura blinked and focused on Shirou, who was slightly past halfway through the corridor. He carried a heavy steel rod in his hands, and with regular downward blows or measured swings relentlessly chopped down the Dragon Tooth Warriors in his way.

 _It probably helps though that those things are rather slow and clumsy, and anyone with at least some training in physical combat could easily take care of them so long as they don't have the numbers._

 _Which they do…_

 _…usually…_

 _…and here, it's pointless, since the corridor is so narrow. At most, they can only come in threes at one time, and only from the front, what with the ones inside the rooms having flooded outside the moment we stepped onto the floor._

Sakura nodded to herself. " _Let's wrap this up._ " She thought to herself. "Sempai, get back!"

Shirou broke the closest Dragon Tooth Warriors before jumping back, more shadows sweeping past and forming an array of multiple magic circles on the floor, walls, and the ceiling. " _Stromschlag!_ " Sakura said loudly, and crackling electric-blue bolts wildly filled the space between the circles. After a few moments, they stopped, the vinyl flooring steaming gently and the air stinking of ozone.

Of the Dragon Tooth Warriors, only broken and blackened fragments were left on the floor, the largest no bigger than the size of a man's palm.

Shirou relaxed at the sight, and then turning jogged over to where a somewhat-winded Sakura was catching her breath. "You alright?" he asked.

Sakura nodded and straightened. "A bit winded, but yeah, I'm fine." She said with a reassuring smile.

Shirou smiled back and nodded. "That's the last of them, isn't it?" he asked, looking back down the corridor.

"Yeah, that's the last of this batch." Sakura agreed before inquiring with Archer about the situation outside. "Archer says he and Saber have also managed to finish off the ones outside. So yeah, this place is clear."

Shirou breathed deep in relief. "Good, very good," he said. "These people are safe then. Oh yeah, you still have to treat them, right?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, I do." She said. "And more than that…"

Sakura trailed off and reached into a pocket, pulling out the opal from earlier. It glowed softly but steadily in her hand, and she smiled slightly. "We can finally find them, and take them out." She confidently said. "We'll make them pay for dragging innocent people into the contest when they should have nothing to do with it, one way or another."

Shirou nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I agree." He said. "Though, we shouldn't go too far either. I mean, yeah I know what to expect when it comes to magi, but even then, we don't need to sink to their level."

Sakura glanced at Shirou at that, Shirou resolutely meeting her eyes for a several moments. "In short," she said. "Defeating them is enough, there's no need to kill them, is that it?"

"Yes." Shirou said with a nod. "Though, we should also take their command spells, so they won't be able to make a new contract in case there's a Servant out there who doesn't have or has lost their Master. After that, whether they leave the city or go to Kotomine, they can't get involved in the war anymore or hurt people either."

Sakura nodded slowly. "I get what you mean," she began. "But…"

"But?"

"What if they refuse to surrender?"

Shirou didn't reply for several seconds, and then he lowered his face. He clenched his fists, and took a deep breath. "Magi walk with death." He finally said. "I won't let them keep hurting people, and if they refuse to give up even after we've beaten them, then…then we – I – can't hesitate."

Sakura briefly lowered her face, and then raising it opened her mouth to speak. She closed it almost immediately though, and after a few moments she nodded. "Alright then," she said softly.

Shirou nodded but didn't raise his face. Sakura looked concerned at that, and after a moment she hesitantly reached out and placed a comforting hand on his arm. Shirou blinked and glanced at her at that, and while Sakura jolted she didn't remove her hand either. After a moment Shirou smiled and placed a hand over hers. "Thanks," he said. "But I'm fine with it, really."

"Sempai, I…"

"Don't worry." Shirou said, smiling wider and stepping closer, placed a hand of his own on her shoulder. "It comes with being a magus. I've always known that, and I understand."

Shirou sighed and nodded. "I don't like it, but I don't have to." He said before smiling. "And, it doesn't have to be that way. Despite being magi, we can still make the better choice, can't we?"

For a moment Sakura just silently stared at Shirou, and then she gave a small smile of her own. "You mean they can make the better choice." She said. "Though, I doubt any magus capable of doing this, much less what happened at the waterfront would. Still, there's nothing wrong with hoping either, is there?"

Shirou shrugged. "No," he said. "There isn't."

Sakura giggled. "You're kind, sempai." She said, already walking away down the corridor. "Too kind…"

Shirou looked surprised at that, but in the next moment Sakura glanced at him over a shoulder with a smile. "Now then," she said. "Shall we get started on treating these people? And after that, shall we call it a night?"

Shirou looked even more surprised that she wanted to call it a night already but…

" _This is the ninth place we've stopped Caster from attacking tonight._ " He thought. " _And while she's not letting it show, Sakura's probably beat. And if I'm honest, so am I._ "

Shirou sighed and walked towards Sakura. " _Probably for the best too,_ " he thought. " _There's still school tomorrow, and after that…if Sakura can find where Caster's hiding, then we'll probably be heading there tomorrow night. And if we can take Caster out, we can keep them from attacking people at all._ "

Nodding once, Shirou stepped up to Sakura, and sharing a smile went off to visit the first of the rooms on this floor.

There were still people inside who needed help after all.

* * *

The following day was cloudy and humid, holding the promise of either late winter snow or freezing rain and sleet.

And once again, Sakura was skipping school to pay a visit to her father's former apprentice, and her mentor in turn. "What?" Sakura said, stopping in the act of drinking the tea offered to her by Kirei. "Lancer's Master reported it in? That's unusually generous of them."

"Let me guess," Kirei said with an amused smile. "You suspect the possibility that Lancer's Master could actually be the one behind the waterfront incidents, and reporting the provided information was just a means to draw attention away from them?"

Sakura didn't reply at once, and took a sip of her tea first. "It's a possibility, isn't it?" she finally asked.

"It is." Kirei agreed. "But one without proof. You could do with being less paranoid, though I have to admit it's not a necessarily bad trait to have, considering how…cutthroat, magi society is. In moderation, that is. It would not do to see plots and conspiracies where they do not exist."

Sakura again took a sip of her tea. "You…you're probably right." She said. "But, can we trust this information?"

"I think we can." Kirei said with a nod. "Or, you could trust my judgment instead, and after speaking with Lancer's Master in person, I can assure you that in this matter we can rely on their sincerity."

Kirei's lips curled with amusement as he watched Sakura mull over his words. It was all true, everything he'd said. _He_ was Lancer's Master, and he was reporting it in to Sakura. And there was no proof that he was the one behind the waterfront incidents, simply because there was none, as he was never involved in them at all.

As for meeting with Lancer's Master…

…well, Kirei did look in the mirror this morning, and he had met Lancer's _former_ Master before he'd killed that foolish Irishwoman and taken Lancer for himself. And just because she was the former Master, she had been the Master at the time.

Everything was true, and not once did he bear false witness when speaking of Lancer's report on what was found in the undercity to Sakura.

"Chimeras…" Sakura murmured with a mix of disgust and frustration. "Of all the damn things…worse, they've infested the undercity…this is going to be trouble both during and after the war…"

"What do you plan to do?" Kirei asked.

Sakura glanced at him, and then taking another sip of tea placed her teacup and saucer back on the table. "For now, nothing." She said. "I still need to think up of a plan after all. Just rushing into this mess will achieve nothing and waste a lot of time, effort, and resources, and would probably play into the enemy's hands. Sorry, but no thanks."

Kirei nodded. "A prudent call," he agreed. "I approve."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"On another note," Kirei said. "Do you have any suspicions as to who could be behind those chimeras?"

"Not really, no." Sakura said. "Einzbern has the resources and means, but…it's not like them to do this. They could, but they won't, if anything if they needed cannon fodder for that monstrous Berserker of theirs, they'd use homunculi, which would be far superior to chimeras in my opinion."

Kirei nodded. Sakura thought in silence for several moments, and then she shook her head. "Apart from myself – since I know for certain I did not and cannot breed chimeras – and Einzbern, I would also clear Caster. As I said before, it doesn't match their methodology so far."

Sakura paused, and then sighed. "Though," she said. "That still leaves four other Masters unaccounted for. Well, not quite; going by your confidence, I can probably rule out Lancer's Master, along Emiya-sempai, and Matou-sempai, leaving us with an unknown behind the chimeras."

"Oh?" Kirei said with narrowed eyes. "Why so confident in Matou?"

Sakura sat in silence for a few moments, and then reaching forward drained her teacup. "She's probably their Master, even if she hasn't made any moves yet so far." Sakura said softly. "But, she's not like that. She wouldn't make monsters like those, or use…no, feed them with the lives of innocent people."

"I see." Kirei said with a mocking smile. "Your confidence in your onetime sister is touching and perhaps…commendable, even. But, don't you think you are being naïve?"

"What?" Sakura asked with narrowed eyes.

"It's been ten years since you last truly knew her." Kirei said. "People change with the passing of time, and with the experiences they gather in that elapsed time. Rin Tohsaka, no, Rin Matou…just by looking at her you can see how much she's changed, and not just physically. You and I both remember how she once was, and if we compare that to how she is now…"

Kirei broke off as Sakura loudly placed the teacup back on its saucer. "She's not like that." She said coldly. "She was and is a proud, worthy, and high-reaching magus, but she's also a kind and good-hearted person at heart. And that will never change, no matter what."

"Is that so?" Kirei said with a mysterious smile.

"I know so." Sakura said softly while looking away. After a moment, she briefly closed her eyes, and got to her feet. "And besides, it's not like we have proof that she's behind the chimeras, either."

"And you think there is proof that she isn't."

"Yes, I do." Sakura said while picking up her schoolbag. "I'll think on this some more, but my focus is primarily on Caster right now. Once they've been taken care of, I'll focus on this next."

Sakura nodded at Kirei before leaving, but the priest spoke up just as Sakura stepped over the living room's threshold. "Rin Matou aside," Kirei began. "What of her grandfather?"

Sakura was silent for a moment, and then she glanced at Kirei. "Dad trusted him." She said. "He's treated her properly. There's no proof that he's involved either, and finally, I doubt Rin would let him, not when she has control of their Servant."

Kirei chuckled, and nodded. "Very well," he said. "Your reasoning is sound – to an extent – but I will accept it, so long as you think on it further."

Sakura nodded, and left the living room. Once she was out of earshot though, Kirei chuckled to himself. "Oh, you poor, ignorant little child." He chided. "If only you and your father knew what he was consigning your elder sister to when he handed her over to Zouken's clutches."

Still chuckling, Kirei began to gather the tea set. "We shall see." He said softly. "Oh yes, we shall see how kind and good-hearted she still is, when the two of you inevitably confront each other, just as your father would have wanted."

* * *

" _Are you alright?_ " Archer telepathically asked Sakura as they left Kotomine Church.

" _Of course I'm alright._ " Sakura replied in kind. " _What makes you think I'm not?_ "

" _Just a feeling._ " Archer said before pausing. " _About what was said back there…you and Rin Matou…_ "

Archer let the thought trail off, while Sakura was silent. After several moments though, she replied. " _Do you want to know?_ " she asked. " _Well, I guess I should tell you, seeing as I already trust you with my life. You could say you've earned the right to know about…_ "

" _No,_ " Archer interrupted. " _You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. It's clearly private business, and none of mine. Unless it affects the course of the war, you don't have to force yourself to talk about something you clearly don't like talking about._ "

Sakura silently kept on walking down the street, but after several moments she smiled gratefully. " _Another time, then._ " She said. " _Thank you, Archer._ "

" _No problem._ "

Of course, Archer already knew, having lived this same tasteless drama an…eternity, ago. The memories were faded, and required conscious thought to recall, but when they did…

…they all came crashing back.

Still in astral form, Archer briefly closed his eyes and sighed. Not everything was the same of course, as evidenced by the girl he was ghosting behind. But enough was that he wasn't very confident how this would end, especially considering that Rin Matou was clearly a properly-trained magus, unlike Sakura Matou who'd only ever been a guinea pig for Zouken.

And what Kotomine had said…

 _Kotomine never lies._

 _Oh he hides things, or manipulates the way they're presented to twist how they're perceived, but he never lies._

 _But if that's the case…_

 _…Rin, what have you become?_

 _No…there's no proof, just like Sakura said! Even Kotomine was just pointing out how it was naïve of Sakura to dismiss her as a threat out of sentimentalism, not actually saying she was behind the chimeras!_

 _She can still be, no she **is** a threat, but it doesn't mean she's the one behind the chimeras._

Archer narrowed his eyes. " _Kotomine,_ " he thought. " _Could it be…you…you're trying to turn Rin and Sakura against each other? To force them to confront one another as part of some twisted game of yours? To speed up the war's pace, and summon that…thing?_ "

" _Archer,_ " Sakura asked. " _What's wrong? I'm getting strange vibes through our link._ "

" _No, it's nothing._ " Archer said, mentally kicking himself for letting his emotions get the better of him, and alerting Sakura to his perturbed state. " _I was just thinking of the chimeras, and how it's going to be such a pain to get rid of them. And we might just have to fend off another Master and their Servant too while doing it._ "

Sakura giggled telepathically. " _Yeah, I get what you mean._ " She said. " _Gallows humor isn't really my thing, but, in a twisted kind of way, this whole mess is kind of funny._ "

" _Quite,_ " Archer thought before glancing back at Kotomine Church. " _Considering the circumstances though, a confrontation is likely…inevitable. But even so, don't think things will just go as you'd like them to. Whether it's me, Sakura, Rin, or even that stupid boy…you won't get your way. And in the worst case and it seems like you do…_ "

Archer briefly closed his eyes and looked away from the church.

 _Then this place, and that…thing, you call a 'god', will burn, one way or another._

 _It's cold comfort, the comfort of the grave, but I'm used to it. And I'll take it over letting you win, Kotomine._

* * *

A/N

Stromschlag: German for 'electrocution'.

Welcome to the game, King of Heroes. Not that you'll be significant for a long while yet, that is.


	21. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I do not own the Fate franchise it belongs to Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.

Transposition

Chapter 20

Caster stepped into the large, empty room, and slid the doors behind her closed. She raised her hands, magic circles flashing into life around her. Pressing them in sequence, each circle vanished as Caster touched it, bounded fields falling into place around the room. Each had their own unique effect: one kept people from just walking into or even wondering about what was going on inside the room, another kept sights, sounds, and smells among other things that could be physically sensed from coming out, another prevented other magi from using magic to look into the room, while another disrupted magical communication from coming and going to and from the room, among other effects.

That done, Caster moved her hand horizontally through the air in front of her, the air shimmering before ten sword-shaped constructs of golden light flickered into existence. Caster nodded, and then made another gesture.

A large magic circle appeared revolving on the ceiling, and out fell one of the chimeras that had attacked her temple last night. It had tried to pounce on her from the flank, but Caster had intercepted it mid-jump, and imprisoned it within a pocket dimension until now.

The chimera fell hard and tumbled away before rolling onto its feet. It sniffed at the air a couple of times, and then turning to Caster snarled with hostility. Caster smiled with amusement at the sight and sound. "Down, boy." She said mockingly, and the chimera roared before charging at her.

Caster scoffed and gestured, the ten glowing constructs fanning out and then driving forward at a thought. Six stabbed through one each of the chimera's six legs, while another stabbed into its spiked, reptilian tail. Two stabbed into its body from the back, and the last through it snout. The glowing constructs did not cause physical damage, but despite that they still paralyzed the chimera and pinned it in place.

For the most part: the creature couldn't move its legs or tail, or move or open its snout and head, and its torso muscles were unresponsive but even so it shuddered and heaved as best it could in a vain struggle to break free.

"Much better," Caster remarked as she stepped forward, reaching up to pull down her hood to expose her beautiful, elfin-eared features. A gloved hand lazily ran through silken, violet hair in a theatrical gesture, and Caster smiled smugly as the chimera's golden eyes focused hatefully on her. "Sorry to say, but I can't really have you going on rampage until I figure out what you are."

Caster paused at that, theatrically drawing back and tapping a finger against her cheek. "No," she said. "That's not quite right. You see, I know what you are already."

Caster sighed, and her face took an expression of veiled disgust. "Chimera," she said. "That's what you are. Honestly, of all things the magi of this dull age could have remembered from ancient times, they just had to remember how to make chimera. Disgusting creatures…"

The last was emphasized with a flicker of lightning from Caster's hand, and which briefly washed over the chimera's form. To Caster's surprise, the chimera didn't respond with pain, though the reaction might have passed for it. But Caster's perceptions were not limited to the five senses, and her eyes widened as she sensed the lightning – a fairly basic mystery not just for her but even for modern magi – _absorbed_ by the chimera, the mystery collapsing and the prana which sustained it added to the chimera's own life force.

This served to invigorate the creature, which struggled harder until Caster fed more power to her restraints. Narrowing her eyes, Caster studied her data closely, and her eyes widened and then narrowed again at what she saw.

"Interesting," she said softly. "The mysteries which made you are surprisingly profound, with around five hundred years of accumulated history behind them. You're not even a year old, but the mysteries behind you…"

Caster trailed off, shaking her head at the thought of the chimera's mysteries trying to adapt to and break the restraints Caster had placed on the beast. " _They should hold though,_ " Caster thought. " _Long enough for me to figure out what makes this thing work. Still, it wouldn't do to be careless now, would it?_ "

Holding out her hands, Caster began murmuring in Greek while a magic circle flashed into life between her hands. As she finished her chant, the magic circle glowed brightly and then turned into two semi-circular bands of light. A gesture, and they flew forward to affix themselves around the chimera's neck, and collaring it. A word from Caster, and they dulled, if staying in place.

In the event the restraints broke, the collar would behead the chimera automatically.

"Let us begin then," Caster said. Walking over to a nearby table, she picked up a stylus and pressed a finger against the tip while placing a hand over a neat stack of paper. They glowed, and as Caster let go, the stylus floated down on its own and placed itself against the top sheet, ready to write and record her words.

Nodding once, Caster took the other tools laid out on the table, and generating a wire-framed shield around herself to keep splatter away, approached the chimera. "Now then," she said, beginning to cut into the chimera. "To start with, let's see what animal and which Phantasmal Beast sired and bore you either way. And from there, we'll see."

Caster smiled as the creature struggled, blood spurting and splattering against her shield, and sensed it finally begin to _hurt_.

 _A very good start then, to something that can keep me busy until Souichirou-sama returns this evening._

* * *

"Chimeras?" Shirou echoed in surprise and alarm.

Sakura nodded. Once again, the two of them were on the roof, discussing the war situation after eating their lunches. "Yeah, chimeras," she said, shaking her head in mixed dismay and disgust. "Of all things…"

Shirou nodded, and then turned away angrily. "So that's what's been attacking people along the river." He hissed. "No, worse than that, they…"

Shirou trailed off, shaking his head and clenching his fists. Sakura stayed silent, and several moments later, Shirou took a deep breath before looking at her. "And?" she asked. "What do you plan to do about it?"

"That's the big question, isn't it?" Sakura said unhappily, beginning to pace. "The obvious answer is go in and root them out, right? But, can we actually do that?"

"What?"

"Think about it." Sakura said. "Fuyuki is big, one of the biggest cities in Japan. The undercity through which runs most of the city's waterworks and a large part of electrical and other functions, plus the routes to access and service those functions among others, is just as big, if not bigger and more complex."

"Put another way," Shirou said. "It's like a maze."

"It is." Sakura said with a nod. "It'd be a nightmare navigating down there, all the while engaged in literal tunnel fighting. Worse, given how complex and big the place is, it'd be almost impossible to be sure we managed to clean them out for good."

"I see what you mean," Shirou said, lowering his face slightly. "I mean, I don't know much about chimera apart from, well, the basics, but that's enough. Even if a single egg or nest could be enough for the…hive, or whatever you call it, to grow back, just a single one of those monsters being left behind after we cleaned the place out would be bad enough. There's no point in starting something if we can't finish it."

Sakura nodded. "And also," she said. "If we get in too deep, we might get surrounded underground. Not really the best outcome, is it?"

"No, it isn't." Shirou agreed before pacing a few times and then kicking at a pebble in frustration. "But even so, we can't just do nothing!"

"I agree." Sakura said, also pacing again. "But if we can't go after those monsters directly, then we're going to have find some other way to deal with them."

Shirou stared at Sakura for a moment. "I'm guessing you already have some idea on how to that." He finally said.

Sakura looked at Shirou and nodded. "I do." She said. "Chimeras are Phantasmal Beasts of the Monstrous Rank, and are difficult to control, and impossible to tame. Considering we're probably faced with a full-scale hive, that means the magus behind them is quite confident in their ability to control so many chimeras at the same time."

Sakura paused, and began to pace again. "Basically," she said. "We find the magus in question, and then use their control over the chimeras to either destroy them where they are one way or another, or gather them in a single spot so we can destroy them all in one go."

"So, just like any other Master, is it?"

Sakura nodded. "Pretty much," she said before sighing. "Though, this assumes that the magus behind them does have sufficient control over the chimeras."

"What?"

"The ability to breed chimeras is a very…complex, mystery." Sakura said. "It's not simply a matter of just breeding together an animal and a Phantasmal Beast. Finding one of the latter aside, well, there's also the question of making the breeding successful in the first place."

Sakura paused and sighed. "The assumption is that if your mysteries are sufficiently complete and profound that you can breed chimeras, they would also be enough to control them." She said. "But that's not necessarily the case, is it?"

"No, now that you mention it, it isn't." Shirou admitted.

"Common sense dictates you don't breed as many chimeras as we're facing if you know you can't control them all up to a point." Sakura continued. "But, common sense isn't exactly common despite what it sounds like, and…"

"And?"

"Magi are the type to go big or go home when it comes to big risks and big rewards, aren't we?"

"Not all of us," Shirou said after a moment. "But, yeah, enough are, and if we're dealing with one of those…"

Shirou trailed off, but both he and Sakura wore grim expressions on their faces at the idea they were dealing with a greedy magus who'd seeded and grown a hive of chimeras to assist in their goal…and might not have complete control over them. "If that happens," Shirou finally asked. "Then what?"

"If the chimeras go out of control, you mean?" Sakura asked, and Shirou nodded. "If that's the case, then Kirei will suspend the contest, and order all Masters and Servants to focus their efforts on dealing with the chimeras and that irresponsible bastard who brought them along without a leash to hold them with."

"Can he actually do that?" Shirou asked in surprise.

"He can." Sakura confirmed with a nod. "For one thing, if the chimeras go out of control, then the conduct of the contest is clearly no longer being upheld. They'd probably be rampaging, after all. Worse, they'd probably be exposed to the public, either at once, or in short order."

"No way…but if that happens…!"

"That's right." Sakura agreed with a dark smile. "If the masquerade gets put at risk, then we're in deep shit. Thankfully, since it's a…side-effect, of the Holy Grail War, it's not really my fault but the Overseer's since it's his job to regulate the Holy Grail War, but still…I'd rather that not happen under my watch."

"…wait, why would it be on your watch? It's not like you're…are you…?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you?" Sakura asked in surprise before laughing. "Yeah, sorry about that. Yes, I'm actually the Supervisor of this territory for the Mages Association."

"Seriously?" Shirou asked before laughing and scratching the back of his head. "I guess that means I'm kind of…trespassing, aren't I?"

"Hmm…" Sakura hummed before shrugging. "Maybe…but I think I can let it go."

The two shared a laugh at that, and then Shirou returned to more serious matters. "Going back to Kotomine…" he said.

"Oh right, anyway, as I said, it's his duty as the Overseer to regulate the Holy Grail War, including making sure the masquerade isn't put at risk because of it." Sakura said after a cough. "So if those chimeras go on rampage, Kotomine will do as I said earlier, probably putting up an additional command spell or two as a reward – and incentive – for whoever takes the magus in question's head."

"He can give away command spells too?"

"Yes, the Overseer has their own set of command spells." Sakura confirmed. "It's to allow them to take control of any Servant if they need to bring them or their Master to heel. And just like how command spells can be surrendered, they can also be transferred."

"I see."

"Well, there is precedent for it." Sakura continued. "I'm not too sure of the details, but during the last war the Caster went on rampage, and the Overseer at the time did as Kirei could if the worst happens here and now."

"Well, let's hope it doesn't come to that then." Shirou said grimly. "Somehow, I just know that all seven Masters and Servants working together is going to cause a lot of damage, not to mention what a rampaging hive of chimeras can do."

"There's that too." Sakura nodded in agreement. "It might be best if we can find and deal with them before it comes to that. Either that, or Lancer's Master does."

"They're after the ones behind the chimeras too?"

"I think they are." Sakura said. "From how Kirei said it went, I think I – we – can take it as circumstantial evidence that Lancer and his Master are after them, one way or another."

"Enemy of my enemy, is it?"

"That," Sakura said. "Or they're after the research of the one behind the chimera. Well, that last is typical of magi so…"

Sakura trailed off and shrugged. "So what do you think we should do?" Shirou asked.

"What do you think?"

Shirou frowned at Sakura turning the question back at him, the younger girl just shrugging with a smile. "Well, I think," Shirou began with a sigh. "We ought to do things one at a time."

"Oh?"

"We're already committed to Caster so…" Shirou fumbled. "Let's find them first and deal with them, and then we can start looking for the chimeras' master. I mean, at least we already have a way to find Caster, and one with a good chance of working. That's not the case with the chimeras' master."

"Hmm…well, that's true," Sakura said worriedly. "And we'll need to think up of a plan to go up against a superior – if not as good as Caster undoubtedly is – magus."

"Wait, what? No, I understand Caster, but the chimeras'…"

"As I said," Sakura said. "Breeding and controlling chimeras are very…profound, mysteries. I don't even know how to begin with that, or at least none of my family's lore covers that."

Sakura shrugged. "No big loss." She said.

"Agreed," Shirou said before sighing. The two magi stayed silent for a few moments, and then Shirou gave Sakura a smile. "Well, I guess we just have to do the best we can, don't we?"

Sakura looked at him dryly for a moment, and then sighing gave a small smile. "Yeah," she said. "We can do that much at least."

* * *

"Leysritt, do you have what I asked you to bring?"

"Yes, my lady."

"Where is it then?"

"In the dungeons, my lady."

The little girl scampered off, Leysritt falling into step beside her sister as they followed after their mistress. "Did you encounter any difficulties while retrieving what Lady Illyasviel asked for?" Sella asked.

"Not as such," Leysritt replied. "But to an extent yes."

"That is rather inconceivable." Sella remarked.

"The quarries were fragile." Leysritt replied. "The difficulty came with securing one alive and as intact as possible, as per Lady Illyasviel's command."

"I see." Sella said, but said nothing more. Instead, the two homunculi silently followed their mistress down to the dungeons beneath the miniature castle built in Fuyuki's outskirts, to where Leysritt had deposited her mistress' desired specimen.

The chimera was…generally humanoid, in appearance, though with hardened scales covering its back and going around its torso and down its thighs. The chimera's legs ended with reptilian feet, and its arms likewise ended with reptilian claws.

A reptilian tail also sprouted from the chimera's back, tapering down to a spiked end. Its head was…strange, at once ape-like and pig-like in appearance, with small, beady, golden eyes and a fanged maw. Many of the teeth was broken, and indeed, the face showed signs of being bashed in by blunt force.

"Oh!" Illyasviel childishly said while running in circles around the chimera, playfully leaning in every so often. "So this is what a chimera made by Makiri looks like! Not bad, not bad…"

Sella and Leysritt stood along a nearby wall, next to a flickering torch. The former had her hands held relaxed in front of her waist, while the latter had one hand by her side and the other holding a large halberd at the ready beside her.

The chimera might be in chains after all, and she'd thoroughly beaten it down, but Leysritt had also seen it's – and its fellow chimeras' – regeneration ability in action. As such, she thought it best to be prudent.

"I'm surprised though," Illyasviel said, finally coming to a halt in front of the chimera, and cheerfully smiling at it. "I never expected a family as rotten through as Makiri is to be actually capable of making something like you. Well, maybe about century or even half a century ago they could have done it, but now?"

Illyasviel scoffed, leaning back as she did so. "That walking disease doesn't have what it takes." She sneered, all childishness gone. "Not anymore. So how?"

Chains tinkled as the chimera struggled against its bindings, but Illyasviel didn't even flinch, though Leysritt took a cautious step forward. A glance from Illyasviel had the homunculus returning to her place by the wall, and then Illyasviel turned back to the chimera.

"There are so many questions I want to ask, just from looking at you." She said. "How were you made? How do you work? What were you made from?"

Illyasviel closed her eyes, and took a step back. She paced a few times, and then coming to a halt turned smiling at the chimera. "Well, I have the time to find the answers out from you." She said. "And if you can't answer them, I'll just have to get some more of you, right? Makiri made a lot of you after all, though I have to wonder if you're all trash like the rest of that walking disease's legacy is or…"

Illyasviel trailed off, and narrowed her eyes. "Or," she continued after a moment, sounding less like the child she appeared and more like the eighteen-year old that she really was. "Did Makiri actually make an exception to the rule?"

Chains tinkled and groaned as the chimera struggled against its bonds once more, and Illyasviel raised a hand in response. A glowing halo flickered to life around the hand, and then with flicks of her fingers accompanied by the cracking of displaced air, sent concussive bolts of energy flying.

They slammed into the chimera's chest, bone audibly breaking from the impact and flesh crumpling inward and darkening from internal injuries. The chimera shuddered and strained, muffled noises coming from its mouth, chained shut by a chain wound below its jaw and around its head.

Illyasviel flicked her fingers again and again, the chimera refusing to subside and continuing to struggle even as its chest and torso were reduced to a blackened and bloated mass of bruised flesh and broken bone. The little homunculus was growing increasingly frustrated at the chimera's refusal to simply heel, Illyasviel actually growling at one point and finally letting out a frustrated yell several moments later.

The dungeon briefly went bright as day, and an echoing boom echoed through the mansion which actually shook for a couple of moments. As the light faded and the shaking subsided, chains hung limply from the ceiling, while others lay on the blood-splattered floor. The chimera's head, arms, legs, and parts of the chimera either hung from the chains or lay splayed out on the floor, but most of the body had been outright vaporized by a ravening blast of pure energy.

"Oh damn it!" Illyasviel shouted, kicking at the floor angrily. "Worthless Makiri trash! Why wouldn't it just heel? Damn it! Leysritt!"

"Yes, my lady?" Leysritt said, stepping forward with a bow.

"Get me another one!"

"As you wish, my lady."

Muttering to herself about ill-bred dogs and uppity worms, Illyasviel stomped off. Sella made to follow, only to pause next to Leysritt. "You may wish to capture more than one specimen this time." She advised. "Knowing our lady and with this episode as an example, one specimen will not be enough for her."

"Understood."

Sella nodded and followed after Illyasviel, Leysritt initially keeping step with her sister before they parted ways, the former needing to obtain additional specimens for their mistress.

* * *

Souichirou Kuzuki was not an easy man to surprise.

Despite appearances, it wasn't so much that he couldn't feel surprise, as much as it was that he didn't let it show or affect him. Even when the unexpected happened, whether it was a deviation in a plan or something that just happened, he didn't waste any time on worry or academic considerations. Instead, he used time otherwise wasted to consider the new situation variables, develop countermeasures, and put them into effect.

And through a combination of brutal physical and mental training, along with long years of experience, he could do all that in mere seconds.

But even for all that, finding his usually self-assured and unflappable Servant unhappily exorcising her frustrations with alcohol was something…difficult, to take in.

And that was quite surprising in its own way, not that he let either show.

"What has happened?" Kuzuki asked.

"I have finished a number of examinations on that captured chimera." Caster said, rising to her feet and bowing. "Welcome home, Souichirou-sama."

Kuzuki nodded. "What have you found that has disturbed you so, Caster?" he asked.

"To start with," Caster said, disgust dripping from every word. "What that chimera was bred from."

Kuzuki didn't say anything, instead silently urging Caster to continue. "The chimeras are born from Humans and blood worms." Caster finally said, visibly straining to keep herself from spitting.

"Blood worms?"

"The lowest kind of Phantasmal Beast, even more primitive than most familiars." Caster explained. "They are literally worms, which feed on flesh and blood, though they can subsist on prana if need be. By themselves they are useless, but their greatest strength ironically enough is their simplicity. They can be modified easily, and developed into more advanced forms with greater freedom than other, more complex life forms."

"I see." Kuzuki said, inwardly disturbed at the idea of worms and Humans being cross-bred but not letting it show. "How is it possible that worms and Humans can be bred together?"

"I am as of yet uncertain of that." Caster said. "However, my examinations have led me to believe that cross-breeding is a very…artificial, affair. It is not done by…natural, means, and requires external intervention at every stage."

Again, Kuzuki silently prompted Caster to continue, and the woman snorted and looked away in disgust. "While I will of course continue to work to infer the process," she said. "Even from just what I've uncovered so far…it's disgusting. Why in Mother Gaea's name would anyone want to breed Humans with blood worms of all things? Are they that desperate to breed chimeras, that they chose the simplest and easiest to obtain and use example of a Phantasmal Beast? And for that matter, why Humans as the paired animal species?"

"It could be that." Kuzuki said. Magus or no, he understood supply and demand well enough, and how universal the concept was. Between what Caster had told him about the blood worms just now, and the fact that the chimeras seemed to be…cannon fodder, for Rider and her Master…

…well, the simplest and easiest Phantasmal Beast to breed chimeras _en masse_ with made sense in terms of efficiency compared to less…disturbing, but rarer and more difficult, Phantasmal Beasts.

Caster silently took this in, and after a few moments nodded slowly. "I…concede, the point." She said grudgingly. "The simplicity and versatility of the blood worms makes for an…uncomfortable, if undeniable merit. But why Humans though?"

"I do not know." Kuzuki said. "Perhaps you will find the answer with further examinations?"

Caster nodded slowly again. "True." she softly agreed.

Kuzuki nodded back. "Have you found anything else?" he asked.

"Yes," Caster said before taking a deep breath to recover her composure. "Apart from the chimera's own innate mystery – seeing as it cannot normally exist – there are a number of mysteries woven through its being. They are…surprisingly profound, leading me to believe that the system used by Rider's Master is at the very least, about five centuries old, to have this level of accumulated weight. Indeed, I daresay the chimeras are…incomplete, crystallizations, of her family's magecraft."

"You sound respectful."

"I am." Caster admitted with a hint of reluctance. "It's a clumsy and awkward system, with a particularly repulsive application, but I can…respect, on academic terms, a system of mysteries that's been built up to this degree."

"Professional respect, in other words."

"As you say, Souchirou-sama."

"And?" Kuzuki continued. "What are those mysteries 'woven through' the chimera?"

"I am still deciphering most, but I've identified one for high-speed regeneration, provided enough prana is available, and depending on the degree of damage to be recovered from. Bones, skin, scale and muscle are the easiest to replace, while organs and large quantities of…blood, and I use the term loosely, are more difficult to replace apparently. And of course, it's a given that the brain is irreplaceable."

"I am to take it then that unless instant death or critical damage is inflicted, the chimeras can quickly recover from their injuries on the battlefield?"

"You may."

Kuzuki silently considered this, and after a moment, nodded at Caster. "Fortunately," Caster continued. "That should not be a problem…for now."

"For now?"

"One mystery I have deciphered is an adaptation one." Caster said. "The chimeras 'learn' on a conceptual level, passively attempting to develop and improve resistances and even immunities to magical attack, or to physical ones. The former by adapting their mysteries and concepts accordingly, and the latter by growing improved physical defenses."

After another moment of silent prompting, Caster continued. "Now," she said. "While I strongly doubt they could develop resistances or immunities to High Thaumaturgy barring highly-improbable circumstances, the same cannot be said for simpler mysteries or repetitive forms of physical attack. Most likely, this is a result of their…ancestry: their bodies can quickly be adapted as needed."

"Then it wouldn't be a real issue for you," Kuzuki said. "But it may prove troublesome for my ability to fight on the battlefield."

"Not necessarily," Caster said with a smile. "If need be, I can provide you with passive-effect mystic codes to counter their resistances and defenses. But, even that may not be necessary."

"And why not?"

"Because the adaptations are individual." Caster said. "They are not shared by the chimeras among themselves, at least not naturally. Well, they can cannibalistically consume one of their own to add their prey's attributes to their own but…"

"But?"

"Given their purpose as cannon fodder, the chimeras' numbers being sacrificed to concentrate their quality does not seem a real concern."

Kuzuki considered this for a moment. "Yes," he agreed. "That much is true. Have you uncovered anything more?"

"I have made a few hypotheses on the remaining mysteries yet to be deciphered, but I would say until I prove or disprove them, there is little point in discussing them."

"Indeed," Kuzuki agreed. "Very well, continue as you have so far, though take care not let yourself get too aggravated by your findings. If necessary, put your examinations on hold to clear your mind, the better to conduct your examinations with."

"Yes, I understand Souichirou-sama. And thank you for your concern."

* * *

A/N

Mostly exposition from Caster, but also an appearance by our favorite psychopathic loli.

Next chapter, and we go back to the business of the war.


End file.
